FARGO - Law enforcement officials say new restrictions on the purchase of certain cold pills have cut down on methamphetamine labs in North Dakota, but dealers continue to import the drug.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., wants Congress to pass a bill that would provide millions of dollars for law enforcement and impose national limits on the sale of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient used in making meth.

At a Senate field hearing here on Monday, North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said lawmakers should continue to pursue stiffer penalties for drug traffickers and increased treatment for meth users.

"It's imperative that the funding level be increased," Stenehjem said. "It's also important to continue the relationship among the state, federal and city officials."

A new state law requires merchants who sell cold pills with pseudoephedrine to ask customers for identification and write down the buyer's name, address, birth date and driver's license number. The number of meth lab busts in North Dakota was down in 2005 and the lowest since 2002.

Most of the meth sold in North Dakota is manufactured at "super labs," primarily in California, Texas and Mexico.

"It has been a major shift," said Drew Wrigley, U.S. attorney for North Dakota. "I haven't seen one significant drug trafficking problem where the meth was made in North Dakota."

Acting Fargo Police Chief Keith Ternes said meth cases in the city have tripled in the last four years, leading to increases in violent crime and property offenses. Seven of the city's 127 officers work solely on drug trafficking cases, he said.

"With our already limited resources, it's getting more difficult to stay ahead of the game," Ternes said.

Rod Trottier, Bureau of Indian Affairs police chief in Bottineau, said the most disturbing aspect about meth use is the increase in the number of child abuse and neglect cases. Recently a newborn on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation showed an addiction to meth, he said.

"Methamphetamine does not care whether it's on the reservation or off the reservation," he said. "It doesn't care whether its victims are Indian or not."

In Valley City, a town of about 7,000 people, Police Chief Dean Ross said violent crime has increased because of the meth problem. There was a triple homicide in 2003 that police attributed to drug use. Another man died after swallowing meth when he thought he was being chased by a police helicopter.

Valley City doesn't own a police helicopter.

"In my career, it's the worst drug to ever hit the market," Ross said.

Conrad blames many East Coast lawmakers for ignoring the meth issue. He said use of the drug doubled in 17 states in the last three years, most of them in the western half of the country. North Dakota had a 91 percent increase in that time, he said.

"I think we'll wake up some of the senators and representatives on the East Coast, eventually," Ross said, "because it (meth) is spreading their way."