Pubdate: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 Source: State, The (SC) Copyright: 2006 The State Contact: http://www.thestate.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/426 Author: Joan Brady and Leon Lott, Guest columnists Note: Rep. Brady represents Richland County in the S.C. House. Mr. Lott is the Richland County sheriff. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) DRUG THREAT MAKES ACTION ON METH BILL IMPERATIVE South Carolina legislators soon will have an opportunity to curtail use of the fastest-growing illegal drug in the nation, methamphetamine, commonly referred to as "meth." U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales recently declared meth "the No. 1 drug problem facing society." Popularized in the West and Midwest, meth is quickly making its way across the country to South Carolina. This sudden migration has resulted in many Southeastern states passing or considering passage of laws that restrict the sale of pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient used in meth production. Local law enforcement officials, including the S.C. Sheriff's Association, agree that without strong meth laws, South Carolina remains an open market for this impending epidemic. Besides being an extremely addictive drug, meth is cheap to buy and easy to make. And dangerous: An average lab can generate as much as six pounds of toxic residue and hazardous fumes for every pound of meth illegally produced. Meth production utilizes highly flammable and explosive ingredients, endangering first responders and law enforcement officers making a meth drug bust. Restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine is the key to stopping meth proliferation, according to the U.S. Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration and S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster. Pseudoephedrine is found in common over-the-counter cold and allergy remedies such as Sudafed, and while safe when used properly, it is also the coveted ingredient in the toxic meth brew. Last year the state of Oklahoma passed legislation requiring all products featuring pseudoephedrine as their main ingredient be sold from behind a store counter and customers sign a purchase log. As a result, in just one year Oklahoma has experienced a 90 percent decrease in meth lab proliferation. Similar meth lab reductions have occurred in other states enacting sale restrictions. Modeled after this effective Oklahoma legislation, the S.C. meth bill requires that all pseudoephedrine prime-ingredient products, about a dozen items, be dispensed and sold from behind a store counter. Purchased quantities are limited to three packages or a total of nine grams of pseudoephedrine at each purchase. Customers must show a photo ID and sign a log or registry stating the date of purchase, their name and address, and the number of grams of pseudoephedrine purchased. Products in which pseudoephedrine is not an active ingredient will still be available over the counter, but limited to three packages per customer. Many of the nation's larger drugstore and retail chains have voluntarily initiated this policy with success and only minor inconvenience to customers. Maintaining the customer purchase log is another key to effectively curtailing meth production. More than 400 law enforcement and health officials attended the S.C. methamphetamine summit held in November at Myrtle Beach. These professionals stressed the need for the customer purchase log as an invaluable tool for meth investigation and prosecution. They agreed that while signing a log and showing a photo ID may be slightly inconvenient for the legitimate customer, this policy will certainly slow down the local meth dealer from frequenting our neighborhood pharmacies. Recent U.S. Justice Department data show that states enacting strong meth laws experienced a considerable reduction in meth use and production. With our neighbors Georgia and North Carolina passing meth legislation, South Carolina must act quickly. We don't want our state to be an unprepared target as the meth epidemic aggressively heads south. Rep. Brady represents Richland County in the S.C. House. Mr. Lott is the Richland County sheriff. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman