Pubdate: Wed, 09 Mar 2005 Source: Charleston Daily Mail (WV) Copyright: 2005 Charleston Daily Mail Contact: http://www.dailymail.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/76 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) METH BILL WOULD LIMIT SALE OF COLD PILLS (AP) The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee moved to further restrict the purchase of certain over-the-counter cold medicines that contain ingredients necessary for the production of methamphetamine. Under the bill advanced, customers could only purchase up to three packages of medicines like Sudafed a month without a prescription. The proposal also reduces the number of controlled cold medicines from about 250 to less than a dozen by targeting medicines that contain pseudoephedrine and other ingredients. "It takes a tremendous amount of this stuff to make meth," said Sen. Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, the committee's chairman, on Tuesday. "This bill prevents the cooker from acquiring mass quantities." The yield of methamphetamine is about equal to the amount of pseudoephedrine used in the manufacturing process, according to law enforcement officials. Gov. Joe Manchin's original proposal would have allowed customers to purchase up to 9 grams of the targeted chemicals. At a dosage of 30 milligrams per tablet, a person would be able to purchase 15 20-pill packages of medicine. Fewer medicines are being moved behind pharmacy counters because cold remedies containing several active ingredients are more difficult to cook down into methamphetamine, said State Police Lt. Mike Goff. "We're happy with this provision because the bill would allow us to add medicines to the list if we find they are being made into methamphetamine," he said. The committee's proposal would make possession of more than three packages a "presumption of intent to manufacture" the narcotic, meaning defendants would have to present evidence that they did not intend to make methamphetamine. Similar to laws regarding gunshot wounds, the bill would require that medical professionals report to law enforcement officials any treated injuries they suspect to be related to manufacturing the drug. The new bill also includes language equating production of the drug near children as evidence of child abuse. The bill now heads for the Senate Judiciary Committee. A similar bill has been introduced in the House. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom