EASLEY PLEDGES TO BATTLE SPREAD OF METH LABS

Governor Backs Efforts With $500,000 Grant

RALEIGH - Gov.  Mike Easley pledged Wednesday to back tougher penalties for making methamphetamine and more money for law enforcement to stop the manufacture of the drug from spreading statewide.

Easley described meth labs, which can explode because of the chemicals used in the drug's manufacture, as "the biggest threat to every community in North Carolina."

The labs have been found in apartment buildings, cars, houses and hotel rooms, and the toxic fumes could harm children who live in homes where the drug is made.

"We're not going to allow people to blow up our houses, abuse and neglect our children and endanger our communities," Easley said.

The governor's announcement lends support to attorney general and fellow Democrat Roy Cooper, who says he will ask lawmakers to adopt a $14 million anti-meth plan this spring.

Cooper's proposal would train law enforcement, launch a public awareness campaign and lengthen prison sentences for people who possess chemicals used to make meth.  Right now, the sentence for manufacturing meth is about the same as the sentence for possessing small amounts of marijuana.

The attorney general's staff is still refining the proposal.  Lawmakers might take it up when they return to work May 10.

Cooper wants the laws to catch up to the growing problem.  Meth busts in North Carolina grew from nine in 1999 to 177 last year.  Law enforcement officers have made 89 such busts in the first three months of 2004.

State law officials worry the pace will keep growing, since meth is relatively easy to make with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which are common ingredients in cold medicines, and other ingredients that can be bought readily in stores.

Easley joined the push Wednesday by announcing a $502,166 grant from the Governor's Crime Commission to buy two additional mobile response vehicles.  The trucks, which look like large ambulances, contain biohazard suits, chemical detectors and other devices that make it safer for law enforcement officers to handle the volatile chemicals in the labs.

The state has only three trucks.  That puts a burden on State Bureau of Investigation officers, who have to drive to the scene of every meth lab bust in the state.

The drug has moved east across the state in recent years, as it has moved east across the country for decades.

Asked about laws in other states that require store owners to keep medicines with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine behind the counter, Cooper said he wasn't considering that at this point.  Instead, he wants to launch a campaign to keep stores from selling the medicines in large doses.

Cooper said he would consider tougher legislation if volunteer measures don't work.