ANTI-METH LAWS APPEAR TO BE WORKING

New laws that make it tougher on illegal drug dealers in Missouri haven't been on the books very long, but they appear to be an effective tool in fighting methamphetamine in Missouri.

That was the consensus of more than 250 state, federal and local law enforcement people who gathered in Jefferson City last week for the state's second summit on methamphetamine, the nasty drug that has taken the Midwest, particularly Missouri, by storm.

The Legislature this year approved a law creating more special courts specializing in drug cases statewide and reducing the amount of meth required to gain a felony conviction. It provided funding for cleaning up meth-production sites and for battling the drug. Meth was put in the same category as cocaine, and border counties in Missouri can now pursue meth prosecution in neighboring states.

In 1997, authorities seized 396 meth labs in Missouri. Only California was close, with 178 seizures. In the last year, more than 400 meth labs were seized in Missouri.

That is a significant increase brought on in part by law enforcement's stepped-up efforts to crack down on meth production and by the public's willingness to share with authorities information on meth production. Give the new laws another year, and the conviction rate and severity of sentences undoubtedly also will rise.

But a lot of work still needs to be done if authorities are to make a major dent in meth production and use in Missouri. The summits on meth bring authorities with common goals together to discuss the problem and plot action. It also serves to let drug dealers know that the war is on, and it isn't as easy to make and sell drugs undetected in Missouri as it once was.