STIFF PENALTIES FOR STIMULANT USE PROPOSED.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Assemblyman George Runner introduced a bill Friday that will stiffen penalties for possessing or manufacturing methamphetamine, a drug that experts say has the potential to become ``the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1990s.''

The bill would increase the maximum penalty for manufacturing the drug from three years in state prison to five years and remove the latitude for prosecutors and judges to treat methamphetamine possession as a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

``It should be at the same level as cocaine and rock cocaine,'' said Runner, R-Lancaster. ``I believe that looking at it as less than a felony is not realistic. It creates much more violence, and we need stiffer penalties.''

Runner said methamphetamine - a powerful stimulant first marketed in the 1930s but put under government restrictions in the 1960s as its dangers first became apparent - has contributed to the problem of child abuse and domestic violence in the Antelope Valley and elsewhere.

``We're attacking what we believe is a serious problem not only in the Antelope Valley but also in the U.S. and in California,'' Runner said at a press conference in his Lancaster office. ``Methamphetamine is a dangerous drug, and it's becoming popular, and it's easy to manufacture.''

Those who abuse the drug often exhibit violent behavior, Runner added.

``As a result, child abuse also is related to this issue. It's one of the contributors to the problems that we read about - child abuse and domestic violence,'' Runner said.

Co-authored by Runner with Assemblyman Rod Pacheco, R-Riverside, a former Riverside County prosecutor, Assembly Bill 141 would make a number of changes to sentencing law regarding methamphetamine.

Under current law, possessing the drug is a ``wobbler,'' meaning the offense can be treated either as a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail, or a felony, which carries a maximum prison term of three years.

Under the proposed legislation, possession could only be considered a felony, Runner said.

In addition, people convicted of possessing methamphetamine for sale would face up to five years in prison under the proposed legislation. Current law carries a maximum penalty of three years.

The bill also would enhance penalties for the possession of chemicals intended for or used in the manufacturing of the drug.

A study by the Public Statistics Institute states the number of hospital admissions for illnesses caused by methamphetamine use has increased 366 percent statewide since 1984.

According to the California Department of Corrections, in 1995 alone, there were more than 3,700 people sent to prison for methamphetamine-related crimes.