Pubdate: Fri, 22 Jul 2005 Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) 868 81.xml&coll=7 Copyright: 2005 The Oregonian Contact: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324 Author: Jeff Mapes Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) COLD-DRUG BILL A PRESCRIPTION FOR HEADWAY SALEM -- At times, this week's debate on the House floor over a big methamphetamine bill sounded like a self-help seminar for underachieving legislators. Rep. Bill Garrard, R-Klamath Falls, said lawmakers for once had a chance to rise above the daily Capitol news clippings that report "how ineffective we are." Rep. Bob Jenson, R-Pendleton, told an uplifting story from President Kennedy's famous book, "Profiles in Courage." Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Cannon Beach, exulted to a reporter, "We're actually doing something!" It wasn't as if legislators decided to damn the political consequences and fix PERS, solve school funding or rewrite the tax code. But the House did do something that has been a rare sight in the Capitol this year. The legislators acted in a bipartisan fashion on a tough issue, bulldozed over the objections of powerful lobbies and voted for a bill that will undoubtedly irk many voters. And there are some lessons in how they did it that they can apply to other issues. The meth bill has received plenty of attention because it is one of those unusual bills that will actually make life different for average Oregonians. The measure, House Bill 2485, would require consumers to get a prescription to obtain many common cold and allergy medicines that contain pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Several states, including Oregon, have put such products as Sudafed and Theraflu behind the counter to try to cut off diversions to local meth cooks. But no other state has gone as far as Oregon would under this bill. Consumers who don't use an alternative to products with pseudoephedrine would have to go through the expense and hassle of getting a prescription. Forcing the change is tough for many legislators, who don't like to inconvenience voters. Beyond that, the partisan divide in Salem has given a super-veto to special-interest groups. If they can't stop something in the Democratic Senate, they usually can in the Republican House. The meth issue has been different, in large part because of Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, and Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach, who lead the judiciary committees in the two chambers. Despite their considerable philosophical differences, the two agreed to work together on meth. They brought in Sen. Roger Beyer, R-Molalla; Rep. Greg Macpherson, D-Lake Oswego; and Gov. Ted Kulongoski's crime-policy aide, Craig Campbell, to sort through the meth bills. That way, every power center in the Capitol was included. They checked politics at the door and kept the leadership away. Krieger said his biggest lesson was that he could develop a "relationship of trust with a Democrat." What the work group didn't have was a lot of money. So the lawmakers looked for relatively cheap ideas that worked, such as expanding drug courts. Because it didn't cost the state anything, they could be bold about trying to dry up the supply of pseudoephedrine for meth cooks. Retailers and pharmaceutical lobbyists fought the prescription proposal but found that the bipartisan quartet of legislators had established too much credibility with their colleagues. Few want to be seen as soft on meth. The bill is expected to pass the Senate and be signed into law. Krieger said he and Burdick didn't set out to serve as an example on how to get something done in a partisan Legislature. "We just grew into it," he said. Now, Krieger and Burdick said, they are starting work on their project for the next Legislature. They want to do a top-to-bottom review of all the programs and laws aimed at sex offenders who victimize children. "Something has to be done differently here," said Krieger. "We've got to decide we're just going to protect kids. Period." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth