By Cherie Ward January 24, 2010, 5:56AM (Submitted Photo)Jason Ethan Fortenberry, 36, of Vancleave, miss., was severely burned from the waist down when a “shake-n-bake” methamphetamine lab ignited in his lap in December 2009, said Lt. Curtis Spiers of the Narcotics Task Force of Jackson County. Spiers said that for the first time meth-related arrests outnumbered cocaine-related arrests in Jackson County.

PASCAGOULA, miss. — A statewide record number of meth arrests has prompted law enforcement leaders to push for a bill in the Legislature that would tighten distribution rules for the drug’s main ingredient.

Marshall Fisher, director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, said lawmakers are reviewing House Bill 512 and Senate Bill 2339. Both would make pseudoephedrine available through a doctor’s prescription only.

Pseudoephedrine — commonly found in the nasal and sinus decongestant Sudafed — is the key element in the meth-making process..

“Passing one of them into law would put Mississippi on the cutting edge of drug-law enforcement,” Fisher said.

Lt. Curtis Spiers, commander of the Narcotics Task Force of Jackson County, reported that the number of methamphetamine arrests in 2009 topped even cocaine arrests. He said it was the first time for meth to surpass cocaine in the task force’s 20-year history.

Local task force agents made 216 meth arrests last year, compared with 209 for cocaine. Agents also seized 92 meth labs.

State narcotics agents, meanwhile, recorded 981 meth arrests — an increase of almost 150 — and 608 arrests for cocaine.

Fisher said, “Crystal methamphetamine is the single largest threat to public safety and public health in Mississippi.” He said that the situation “has reached epidemic proportion.”

Spiers pointed out that meth isn’t hemmed in by state boundaries.

“Until there’s a national bill it will continue to rise,” he said. “We’re 20 minutes from the Alabama state line and 45 minutes from Florida. Meth cooks will just drive across state lines, bring it back and cook it here. Until it’s handled nationally, it’s going to be a problem.”

State Sen. Sid Albritton, R- Picayune, authored Senate Bill 2339 and said he believes lawmakers will pass it.

State Rep. Edward Blackmon, D-Canton, wrote House Bill 512, and said, “We have to face this issue head-on. there are a lot of things we can’t do in the war on drugs, but this is one issue we can absolutely do something about.”

Spiers said he will be grateful for any help that the Legislature gives. “Now, we just need other states to follow,” he said.

Mississippi plauged by Meth; Law enforcement leaders push for tighter …

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