Pubdate: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 Source: Asheville Citizen-Times (NC) Copyright: 2005 Asheville Citizen-Times Contact: http://www.citizen-times.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/863 Author: Jason Sandford Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) From The Editor WHERE'D MY ALLERGY MEDICINE GO? Where'd my allergy medicine go? That's the question I keep asking myself every time I go to reach for my cold and allergy medicine and find it hidden behind a pharmacist's counter, instead of on the shelf. I know the answer, of course. In an effort to stop the medications from being converted into methamphetamine, states are making it harder for you to put your hands on it. But that doesn't stop me from feeling more than a little peeved. And I have reservations about the effectiveness of banning over-the-counter sales of these cold and allergy meds that contain pseudoephedrine, the key to cooking meth. Oregon has already passed a new law to require prescriptions for cold and medications that can be converted into meth. Oklahoma became the first state to ban the over-the-counter sales. At least a dozen other states have followed suit. At the federal level, lawmakers in Washington are also considering restrictions on the sale of medications containing pseudoephedrine, which is found in medicines such as Sudafed and Nyquil. But what's happening in Oklahoma, according to a recent Associated Press report, is that while local meth production has declined, the illegal trafficking of smokeable Mexican meth known as "crystal ice" jumped. Other states are bracing for increases in the illegal drug trafficking, but drug agents say they can fight ice with techniques they already use against organized drug trafficking, the AP report said. Finally, the report says the increase in crystal ice in Oklahoma may be an anomaly, that it's still to early to tell what impact the state laws will have. No matter what happens, I can't help but feel like I'm being the one punished when I go to buy my medicine. Can't there be a better way to separate me from the criminals? - --- MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman