Pubdate: Thu, 31 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) FRUSTRATE METH LABS Lawmakers Could Save Lives By Limiting Access To Ingredients Methamphetamine labs are taking their toll across Appalachia as other drugs do not. Hundreds of these clandestine labs blow up every year, killing some people and sending other people to burn units. Some of those other people are children. Dr. Jeff Guy, director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center regional burn center, has seen this hidden side of meth labs. Seven of his center's 20 current patients were burned in meth lab explosions. "As bad as this may sound, as a burn doctor I almost wish another drug, one less volatile that doesn't regularly explode during the manufacturing process, would come down the pike to overtake the popularity of meth," he said. His state's legislature just approved a law patterned on Oklahoma's law, and Tennessee's governor quickly signed it. Among other things, it puts over-the-counter cold remedies that contain ingredients used in cooking meth behind the pharmacist's counter. Oklahoma saw meth labs drop significantly after it adopted this measure. A similar measure is now before the West Virginia Legislature. Surely a tuned-up version that is fair to all manufacturers can be passed. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager