Pubdate: Mon, 25 Jul 2005
Source: Jacksonville Daily News (NC)
Copyright: 2005 Jacksonville Daily News
Contact:  http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/216
Author: Roselee Papandrea

ONSLOW COUNTY SPARED METH MENACE - SO FAR

Law enforcement officials don't find many methamphetamine labs in 
Onslow County, and the drug is something they occasionally see on the streets.

They want it to stay that way.

But the number of methamphetamine labs found in North Carolina, 
especially in the western part of the state, is on the rise, and they 
know it's just a matter of time before labs will start popping up in 
Onslow County.

It's one of many reasons why Jacksonville police Chief Mike Yaniero 
wants there to be regulations on the sale of cold medicine containing 
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

The medicine used to stop sneezing and stuffy heads might seem 
harmless enough, but when the tablets are crushed and cooked with 
chemicals, the drug known as "meth" can be extracted.

"If people are limited in what they can purchase, they will have no 
means to make it," Yaniero said.

It's why legislators in the state House and Senate are working to get 
a law passed that would allow them to keep tabs on who is buying 
over-the-counter cold medicine as well as limit the amount purchased.

People seeking cold medicine containing ephedrine and 
pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed, would either have to purchase it 
from a pharmacy counter in a drug store or at a designated counter in 
grocery and convenience stores in much the same way cigarettes are 
sold. Photo identification also will be required.

Depending on which version of proposed bills are passed - the state 
House measure is a bit more stringent - store owners might need to 
provide video surveillance of sale areas for cold medicines, and 
there is the potential for civil penalties against retail violators, 
according to the Associated Press.

North Carolina is one of 44 states that has either passed or is 
considering legislation on cold medicines. Meth got its start in 
California and has moved across the country and is now prevalent in 
places such as Tennessee and in McDowell and Rutherford counties in 
North Carolina. A total of 322 meth labs were busted in the state in 
2004 compared to nine in 1999. The SBI is expecting the numbers to 
rise this year, according to AP.

In the past three years, a meth lab was found in Newport and in 
Havelock. Onslow County hasn't had one, but there have been a few 
people arrested in 2004 for possessing and trafficking 
methamphetamines, according to Daily News reports.

It's known as the "poor man's cocaine," and it has the potential to 
create major problems in a community, Yaniero said.

"Its effects are similar to cocaine," Yaniero said. "But it's much 
cheaper because it can be produced locally."

Yaniero, who worked in law enforcement in Tennessee before moving to 
Jacksonville in October 2004, is concerned about the drug moving into 
eastern North Carolina. He has seen meth labs and the mess they leave behind.

"I saw within a span of a couple of years going from having none in 
an area to having much more than I was comfortable with," Yaniero 
said. "It's a serious health hazard to anyone who comes in contact 
with it, including emergency workers and firefighters."

Meth labs can create explosions, and six pounds of hazardous waste is 
generated for every pound of methamphetamines produced. When meth 
labs are found, the State Bureau of Investigation is called in to 
clean up the site.

The proposed legislation won't prevent drug users from getting meth, 
but it is expected it will stop production of it. Onslow County 
Sheriff Ed Brown said anything that can be done to keep meth labs out 
of Onslow County will be beneficial.

"The legislation will not prevent meth from coming in this direction, 
but legislation will reduce the labs it's designed to reduce," Brown 
said. "Labs are dangerous. They are dangerous to law enforcement. 
They are dangerous to families. They are dangerous to anyone who 
steps inside of them."

If the legislation passes, some store owners are expecting it to hurt business.

"I'm against it," said Preston Taylor, owner of the Piggly Wiggly 
stores on Henderson Drive and U.S. 258 in Jacksonville. "It will 
probably kill the sales of those items in grocery stores. It will 
make the prices go up. It will make it more difficult for the people 
who really need it to get it."

Rep. Robert Grady, R-Onslow, said he is a Sudafed user and knows the 
legislation will make it more difficult for him to get the cold 
medication when he needs it. But if it stops the production of meth, 
he thinks it's worth it.

"I sympathize with people who use Sudafed for legitimate purposes," 
Grady said. "But methamphetamine is easy to make with fairly common 
ingredients. This tries to control it, and I think it is worth the 
inconvenience."

Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow, said he was concerned for business owners 
who will be impacted by the legislation, but the possibility of meth 
becoming a problem in eastern North Carolina convinced him it's a law 
worth supporting.

"I'm sure for the business owners who sell it that it will be 
inconvenient, and I understand that," Brown said. "But this is one of 
those drugs that is spreading fast, and we need to get a handle on it 
fast. It's one of those tough issues."
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