Pubdate: Wed, 18 May 2005
Source: Dothan Eagle, The (AL)
Copyright: 2005 The Dothan Eagle
Contact:  http://www.dothaneagle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3077
Author: Mark Randall, Eagle Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

LAWMAKERS PASS BILL RESTRICTING DRUG USED TO MAKE METH

What the bill does: Requires retail outlets that sell over the counter
cold medicines containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine with an active
ingredient of 30 mg to keep the packages behind the counter.

It also requires anyone purchasing these products after July 1, 2005
to provide proper identification and sign a special register that will
maintain a record of the purchase.

Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are found in certain over-the-counter
decongestant cold medicines.

Retailers already restricting ephedrine: Kmart, Rite Aid, Albertson's,
Target

Meth labs in Houston County: 48 meth labs in 2004 and over $2,090,180
worth of product destroyed

Alabama lawmakers are praising the passage of a bill which will make
it tougher for criminals to stockpile over the counter drugs used to
manufacture methamphetamine.

The Alabama Senate on Monday gave final approval to a bill regulating
the sale of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are found in over-the-counter
decongestant cold medicines and are key ingredients in the manufacture
of methamphetamine.

The bill will require the drug to be kept behind the counter.
Customers will have to specifically ask a pharmacist for the drug,
sign for it, and present a valid photo ID.

Alabama State Rep. Billy Beasley, R-Clayton, who owns two area
pharmacies, said the bill is a step in the right direction to help
combat the growing meth problem.

"I think it will help,"Beasley said. "Something had to be done in
Alabama. It's affected the lives of many families in our state. It's
dangerous."

The measure won't stop anyone from legitimately buying the drug, he
said, but will stop criminals from stockpiling it.

Beasley said he would like to see the state crack down on the drug
even more by making it available only in stores with pharmacies. Some
states like Oklahoma already have such restrictions in place.

"I'd like to see it restricted to drug store sales or a store that has
a pharmacy,"Beasley said. "Hopefully we can get that done in Alabama
next session."

Michael Pitzing, a pharmacist at Mike's Southside Pharmacy in Dothan,
said the new law really won't affect small pharmacies because most
already keep ephedrine behind the counter.

It will make a difference however at convenience or larger retail and
grocery stores like Wal-Mart where the drug isn't under the watchful
eye of a pharmacist.

"They sell them without the pharmacists's knowledge,"Pitzing said. "I
think it will be a major help in a store like that. It's not a cure
for the problem. But it certainly will help."

Houston County Sheriff Lamar Glover said he also favors the new
restrictions because the spread of meth is devastating society.

"We need some safeguards against it,"Glover said. "We don't need easy
access to it. It has gotten to be a chemical that is in such demand
from meth users that we need to limit its access."

Glover said meth crimes take up about 80 to 90 percent of his
investigator's time.

"It's a tremendous drain on law enforcement officers, especially the
size of the Houston County Sheriff's Office where you have very
limited resources and we have to direct those resources at the
complaint of the public which is methamphetamine." 
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