Pubdate: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Copyright: 2005 Chicago Tribune Company Contact: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82 Author: Steve Ivey Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?155 (Drug Policy Alliance Staff) METH ABUSE MAY LEAD TO NEW CLASS OF DRUGS Bill Would Restrict Access To Cold Medications WASHINGTON -- Congress is poised to pass a new law to restrict over-the-counter sales of some decongestant pills that have been widely purchased by drug dealers to make methamphetamine--the use of which has gone up more than 150 percent in the last decade. A House measure expected to pass in coming weeks would require stores to keep pills such as Sudafed--which contain pseudoephedrine, an ingredient used in making meth-- in a locked cabinet behind a counter. Consumers would be limited to 3.6 grams, or about 120 pills, per day, and 9 grams, or about 300 pills, per month. Purchasers would also have to show identification and sign a logbook. Government drug-fighters have rarely faced a threat like this: an extremely dangerous stimulant, causing violent and paranoid behavior, which can be made using relatively cheap and widely available cold medicines. In an attempt to fight the meth plague without overburdening millions of cold sufferers, lawmakers are effectively preparing to create a new category of drug--not prescription, but with many restrictions. These measures would mirror actions already taken by some states, including Illinois. "We need to make it more difficult for criminals to buy these chemicals, but we don't need to make it impossible for law-abiding families to buy cold medicine at the drug store," said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "The bill before us hopefully strikes a balance between these two competing needs." Not everyone agrees. Some say the extra requirements will invade consumers' privacy and may cost them money while doing little to fight meth, since most of it, they say, is made in large "factory" labs, not the smaller labs that use cold and allergy pills. "Requiring law-abiding citizens to give out personal information to buy cold medicine won't reduce the availability of methamphetamine or the harms associated with methamphetamine abuse," said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, which opposes the administration's policies in the war on drugs. Mary Ann Wagner, a senior vice president with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, added that the regulations may increase costs for consumers. "We do know that when it's happened in the states, there is a cost in asking clerks to sell the product out of locked cabinets and log the transaction," Wagner said. "It takes time, and time is money." But on the whole, she said, retailers understand the need to curb the meth epidemic. Congress is "looking at important controls," she said. "There are a lot of things in there that will be very helpful to the overall meth problem." In addition to cold medicines, meth can be made with such other common items as household cleaners and coffee filters. Producing one batch of meth--about a pound--usually costs less than $100 in materials and can be sold for more than $1,000, according to the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy. The drug can be snorted, smoked, injected or taken orally. Its rush can be felt in as little as five minutes and can last for up to 12 hours. According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 12 million Americans age 12 and older said they had used meth at least once in their lifetime--a 156 percent increase from 1996. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) said those numbers don't approach the levels of marijuana use in the U.S., but meth's effects are much more dangerous. "This is corrosive," Biden said recently. "You send a cop to go bust up a marijuana-smoking party, they walk in, show their badge and everybody goes, `Oh, OK.' You walk into a meth lab, you'd better be prepared to be shot, you'd better be prepared to have at least three officers with you to take one [meth user] down." Over the past few years, 37 states have passed laws to limit purchases of cold medicines containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which are decongestants, with laws pending in Ohio and Massachusetts. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a law Nov. 16 requiring pills with those ingredients to be kept behind counters and sold only at pharmacies. Also, only two packages of the pills can be purchased at one time. The law takes effect Jan. 15 Liquid medicines with pseudoephedrine are not limited because they cannot be used to make meth. Barton attached an amendment to the bill that ensures the federal legislation would not override state laws that impose tougher restrictions on pseudoephedrine sales. Officials in Oklahoma, the first state to restrict cold medicine sales, say the state had 80 percent fewer meth labs after its law took effect. Oregon passed the toughest law this year by requiring a prescription for the cold remedies. Several states mandate that only pharmacists can sell the medicines, thereby prohibiting sales at some grocery and convenience stores. Retailers Target and Wal-Mart already require cold medicines to be kept behind the counter. And Pfizer Inc., the maker of Sudafed and other cold medicines, has said it plans to alter the formula of up to half of its line, using another drug that is impossible to convert to meth. On a national level, Biden criticized the current and former Bush administrations, as well as the Clinton administration, for not doing enough to address meth use. This month, the government's drug control policy office began running television ads in 23 cities to warn viewers about the drug's effects. Congress has made fighting meth use a priority this year. In the House, 130 members formed an anti-meth caucus as did 35 senators. Though several House members originally opposed a monthly limit on purchases, Sens. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who proposed a 7.5-gram monthly limit, said they would block any bill without one. The Senate approved its bill in September, and the House bill incorporates similar language. The production of 1 pound of meth results in poisonous gases and creates 5 to 7 pounds of toxic waste, according to the drug control policy office. The House provision would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to fund the cleanup of illegal meth labs. "It probably comes as no surprise that the crooks who cook up illegal methamphetamine in illegal labs do not heed any environmental restrictions on the disposal of byproducts," Barton said. The law would also toughen penalties for anyone who makes meth where a child resides. About 30 percent of all meth labs are found where a child lives, according to the drug control policy office. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin