LAWMAKERS TO ADDRESS METH LABS

Four Democratic, Bootheel lawmakers and House Speaker Steve Gaw plan to hear from area law enforcement officials and prosecutors Friday about the methamphetamine problem.

The meeting will be held at 4 p.m. at the Dexter High School Auditorium.

The session is being hosted by state Sen. Jerry Howard of Dexter, and state Reps. Joe Heckemeyer of Sikeston, Larry Thomason of Kennett and Marilyn Williams of Dudley.

Thomason said he and the other lawmakers want advice from those in the front lines in the drug war on how the Legislature can best confront the problem.

He predicted legislation would be drafted in the next session of the General Assembly to tackle the methamphetamine problem.

"I want there to be less drugs in the state of Missouri, but the people who can tell me best how to handle that are the people who deal with it on a daily basis, the law enforcement folks," Thomason said.

The lawmakers plan to hear from law enforcement officials in New Madrid, Scott, Dunklin, Stoddard and Pemiscot counties, he said.

Friday's session will be an informal one. "It is not like a formal hearing and we don't want it to be that way," said Thomason.

"We want them to talk to us," he said.

Rep. David Schwab, R-Jackson, questioned why Southeast Missouri Republican lawmakers weren't invited to the meeting.

He said the battle against illegal drugs shouldn't be a political issue.

"My hope is that as important as the issue is that we work on a bipartisan bill and work together and certainly not try to make this thing a partisan issue," he said.

Schwab said the methamphetamine issue is as great a concern to his Cape Girardeau constituents as it is to lawmakers in other parts of Southeast Missouri.

Rep. Pat Naeger, R-Perryville, said he wished he had been invited to the meeting.

Still, he welcomed the forum. "This can't be a bad thing even though it is very partisan," he said.

Naeger said the drug problem isn't a partisan issue. "This is an issue that affects real human lives."

The Perryville Republican said it takes bipartisan support to pass legislation in the General Assembly because the Democrats have only a slim majority.

Regional meetings on the drug issue make for good press, Naeger said. "It makes good headlines for those who are involved and you look serious about fighting crime."

Naeger said the Legislature needs to enact tougher drug laws.

He said methamphetamine dealers should receive life sentences.

"If it takes building more prisons, I think that is what we need to do," Naeger said.

Gaw said Friday's meeting is one of a series of meetings statewide on the issue involving lawmakers, law enforcement officials and prosecutors.

"Methamphetamine use and production is a problem that must be addressed immediately in the state of Missouri," Gaw, a Moberly Democrat, said in a prepared statement.

Missouri ranks second only to California in production of the illegal drug.

"To fight this drug problem, the Legislature needs to establish laws that will assist in the battle against the growth of this dangerous industry," Gaw said.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that causes a euphoric state that can quickly turn to paranoid confusion, the House speaker said.

The drug is manufactured in makeshift labs using readily available chemicals.

Howard said, "We must take the threat of methamphetamine very seriously.

"We must aim our efforts on this drug and other dangerous, cheap, readily available, highly addictive drugs that are extremely destructive to our whole society."

Williams said the drug poses a major threat to children in Southeast Missouri. "We have seen firsthand that this drug can destroy lives before you know it, and the next child could be our own."