NC House agrees to more meth-related punishments


RALEIGH (AP) Tougher penalties for people who make highly addictive methamphetamine using an ingredient found in some cold medicines are sailing through the General Assembly.

The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday for a bill making it a felony for someone to possess a product with pseudoephedrine if the person has been convicted previously of making meth. The bill now heading to the Senate also would increase sentences by up to four years for people convicted of manufacturing the drug where a child or disabled or elder adult live.

Bill supporters include Attorney General Roy Cooper, who says it would strengthen law enforcement efforts to fight meth labs, which often are found in homes. He says a simpler method to make the drug contributed to a record 460 lab busts in North Carolina last year.

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