Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 Source: Charleston Daily Mail (WV) Copyright: 2005 Charleston Daily Mail Contact: http://www.dailymail.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/76 Author: George Gannon DRUG UNIT GETTING PRIORITY Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito said today the Metro Drug Unit would be given priority when applying for a portion of $60 million set aside in the Justice Department's proposed budget to battle the methamphetamine problem. "Meth is a pervasive problem," Capito said. "It's highly addictive and people are hiding these labs." The budget bill will be debated on the House floor next week. The special provision puts the drug unit, along with about 40 other law enforcement groups from around the country, at the top of the list when they apply for grants through the program. Those groups would be given priority because they represent areas of the country considered especially hard hit by meth. "It gives the drug unit priority status," Capito said. Drug unit leaders and police officials from around the state have complained about a proposed overall federal budget that would "zero out" many of the grants these agencies are using to fight the drug problem and maintain day-to-day operations. The proposed reductions are especially damaging now because meth is such an expensive drug to fight. Capito said she's talked with police officers about the problem and when she saw this funding window, she did what she could to make certain the drug unit was on the list. "This is part of my job as a representative, to find how federal resources can be maximized and best used," Capito said. Any money anyone can secure for the drug unit is welcome. Within the next year, the unit, which focuses on drug activity in Kanawha and Putnam counties and uses officers from local police agencies, could lose grants that fund overtime and help the departments who loan them officers. Lt. Chuck Carpenter, the drug unit's commander, was thankful for Capito's efforts, but said they need more help from the federal level to offset the cost of maintaining the unit. Meth is damaging on two fronts. It's a dangerous, addictive drug, but the people who use and make it don't have anything of value for police to confiscate. With drugs like cocaine and marijuana, the dealers are usually well-heeled and have plenty of stuff police agencies can turn into assets. If suspects are found with a large amount of money or driving a nice car, the drug unit can confiscate that and then incorporate it into their own budget. A meth cook or user generally operates at the lower end of the financial spectrum and has very little that a police agency can turn into useable assets. "These people don't have any assets. They're just liabilities," Carpenter said. Their lack of assets is compounded by what it costs to clean labs. The drug unit might spend upwards of $2,000 trying to process the scene. That cost comes in the form of overtime hours and equipment used to gather and collect evidence. Carpenter said there appears to be some relief. With area stores mandated by law to restrict access to medicines containing pseudoephedrine, the drug's active ingredient, they've been called out less. "We've gone from busting four and five labs a day to busting three and four a week," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh