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N.C.  SHOULD LEARN LESSON FROM OKLAHOMA

In her March 23 letter, SBI Director Robin Pendergraft is correct that restricting sales of over-the-counter decongestants, particularly pseudoephedrine, helps curtail the small "mom and pop" methamphetamine labs now afflicting western Noth Carolina.

Pendergraft provides evidence from Oklahoma where recently enacted restrictions caused a sharp, sustained decline in meth lab seizures.  Other states are following suit.

Truthfulness compels the entire story be told, though unfavorable to the criminal justice agenda.  Oklahoma's step was less inspiration than a desperation measure to relieve worsening fiscal pressure caused by meth offenders crowding state prisons.

Tough enforcement and harsh penalties notwithstanding, meth labs ran rampant in Oklahoma for a decade.  While politically popular, the stereotypical "tough-on-drugs" approach failed to abate meth labs and consumed public resources needed elsewhere.  The decision to restrict pseudoephedrine can be viewed as a remedy for this mistake.  North Carolina should consider limits on decongestant sales appropriate for the severity and scope of our problem.  More importantly, let's look at all the evidence and avoid Oklahoma's errors.

METT AUSLEY JR.

Lake Waccamaw