Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 Source: Winston-Salem Journal (NC) Copyright: 2005 Piedmont Publishing Co. Inc. Contact: http://www.journalnow.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/504 Note: The Journal does not publish letters from writers outside its daily home delivery circulation area. SOFT ON METH The state House is headed in the wrong direction regarding methamphetamine production. At the behest of business interests, Rep. Phil Haire, a Sylva Democrat, is pushing legislation that is too weak to make a real difference in the fight against this drug. The Senate, at the urging of Attorney General Roy Cooper, has passed a tough bill limiting access to cold and allergy tablets containing pseudoephedrine. The purpose is to keep those who would grind the pills into a powder that can then be used to make methamphetamine from buying them in large quanties. If House members don't understand the urgency, Cooper and Forsyth District Attorney Tom Keith would be happy to tell them. North Carolina has been overrun with meth labs. Meth users quickly become dependent on it, and those who manufacture it often do so in the presence of their children, who are especially vulnerable to its ambient effects. Simply being in the room while it is being made can be harmful. Meth labs are expensive to clean up, and they pose a serious threat to their surrounding area. Law-enforcement officers who raid the labs must wear protective gear or risk their own health. Last year, the General Assembly toughened the state's laws with regard to meth production. This year, the need is for stronger measures to keep pseudoephedrine out of the hands of the drug makers. The Senate-passed bill would remove all tablets containing pseudoephedrine from store shelves. Customers would have to ask a pharmacist for it and then sign for it. There would be a limit on how much any one customer could buy each month. That will be a nuisance for those with a cold or allergy. But the crime-fighting value of the change makes that inconvenience worthwhile. States such as Oklahoma and Tennessee, which have implemented tough tablet policies, are seeing reductions in meth production. Drug manufacturers denied their pseudophedrine in those states will move to states with weaker laws. The House bill weakens restrictions, allowing easier access to the tablets. Haire says the Senate limits would cause problems for rural residents. That's bunk. The House approach results from lobbying by retailers who don't want to lose sales. Haire is favoring sales over safety. His argument overlooks the availability of these remedies in liquid and gel caps. The Senate bill does not change access to either, and they make up 70 percent of the market. This is just one more example of legislators doing what is best for special interests rather than for the public. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh