Winner Introduces Legislation To Protect Children Endangered By Meth Manufacturers

Albany, N.Y.-- In a continuing, bipartisan effort to help address many of the dangers posed by the illegal drug, methamphetamine, State Senator George H. Winner, Jr. (R-C, Elmira) has introduced legislation in the Senate to create a new crime outlawing the manufacturing of a controlled substance, including meth, in the presence of a child.

"The children of meth addicts and manufacturers represent the most tragic consequence of this whole culture of meth," said Winner. "We hope that this legislation might help protect these children by deterring the production of meth in places where they live and play."

Winner’s legislation, the latest in a series of measures he’s sponsoring in the Legislature this year to address the growing problem, would create a new felony crime for "manufacturing a controlled substance in the presence of a child." Anyone manufacturing meth in the presence of a child 16 years old or younger would be subject to a class E felony. The measure is sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn), chairman of the Assembly Codes Committee.

Winner said that his legislation is part of a comprehensive effort that must also include aggressive law enforcement and public awareness and education.

According to the New York State Commission of Investigation (SIC), in a report issued earlier this year, three children died and 11 more were injured nationwide by chemical explosions and other meth-lab related incidents in 2004. In all more than 2000 children across the country were present at meth production sites last year. Between 2001 and 2003, the New York State Department of Health found at least 18 children present at clandestine meth labs.

The SIC report, "Methamphetamine Use & Manufacture," warns that the rapidly growing use and manufacture of the illegal drug poses an urgent threat to public health and safety. The report highlights the Southern Tier as a hotbed of criminal meth activity in New York State.

Winner said that the children of meth users often live in substandard conditions, are in danger of being sexually abused and suffer severe psychological and emotional problems. In particular at lab sites, he added, children are endangered by their exposure to many toxic substances and other dangerous items like hypodermic needles, razor blades and heating elements.

In March the Senate approved legislation Winner sponsors to create a new felony crime for "operating a controlled substance establishment." Property owners would be held criminally responsible for "knowingly and intentionally" allowing meth manufacturers and sellers to operate on the premises they own. That legislation has been referred to the Assembly Codes Committee where it’s sponsored by Assembly Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Island). Weisenberg is a former police officer in the city of Long Beach.

"I’m encouraged by the growing bipartisan support for legislation to further protect the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region and communities statewide," said Winner. "But we need to keep this bipartisan momentum for action moving forward in the important weeks ahead."

Winner is also sponsoring legislation, expected to be acted on by the full Senate in the coming days, to expand the scope of New York’s drug "precursor law" to make it easier to prosecute meth lab operators and to create a new felony crime for the "criminal manufacture of methamphetamine in or near a residence."

Additional measures being co-sponsored by Winner are designed to combat the theft and restrict the availability of anhydrous ammonia and pseudoephedrine, two key ingredients in meth manufacturing.