Pubdate: Tue, 17 May 2005
Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2005 Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.heraldtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/398
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH CONTROL

Restrictions On Cold Medicine Will Disrupt Spread Of Dangerous Drug

The next time you get a stuffy nose, you may discover that your favorite 
over-the-counter remedy is now behind the counter.

In an effort to disrupt the spread of methamphetamine labs, Florida 
lawmakers recently passed restrictions on the sale of allergy and cold 
medicines containing a common decongestant called pseudoephedrine. The 
measure, which Gov. Jeb Bush says he'll sign into law, will require stores 
to place pseudoephedrine products behind the counter and limit sales to a 
few packages at a time.

The goal is to make life more difficult for people who mix chemicals in 
makeshift labs to create methamphetamine, an illegal and highly addictive 
stimulant. Pseudoephedrine is a key ingredient in "meth," also known as 
crystal, crank, ice and speed, among other names.

Florida's legislation is part of a growing national campaign to shut down 
meth labs, which not only produce a dangerous drug but also pose serious 
public safety and environmental risks. Explosions and fires are common at 
the labs, and the victims are often innocent bystanders. In 2003, accidents 
at meth labs in the United States injured or burned 48 children and killed 
one, according the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Police have found labs in houses, mobile homes, motel rooms and even 
vehicles traveling on the highway. DEA officials say more than 9,100 labs 
were raided in the United States last year. Florida has seen the number of 
lab seizures mushroom from 28 in 2001 to approximately 330 last year, 
according to Gov. Bush.

With the new law, Florida will become one of a dozen states that restrict 
access to pseudoephedrine. In other states, many of the nation's major 
retailers, including Target and Wal-Mart, are voluntarily putting the 
products behind the counter.

"This problem is so severe in many parts of the country that our retailers 
are making sacrifices to help law enforcement in their efforts," Mary Ann 
Wagner, an official with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, 
recently told The Washington Post.

The restrictions imposed by individual states and retailers are 
commendable, but a broader, uniform initiative is needed to ensure that 
meth makers don't zero in on areas where restrictions aren't tight.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. James M. Talent, R-Mo., have 
introduced a bill in Congress modeled on an Oklahoma law that's credited 
with a 50 percent reduction in small meth operations there. The Oklahoma 
measure requires buyers of pseudoephedrine products to show indentification 
and sign logs that would enable law enforcement officials to track people 
going from store to store to accumulate large volumes of pills.

Restricting access to cold and allergy medicines may sound extreme, even 
silly. But the inconvenience to consumers is small, and it could make a 
major difference in the battle against a dangerous drug.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman