Pubdate: Fri, 03 Feb 2006
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Copyright: 2006 Roanoke Times
Contact:  http://www.roanoke.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368
Note: First priority is to those letter-writers who live in circulation area.
Author: Laurence Hammack
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH LAB RAIDS FALL SHARPLY IN STATE

In October, Then-Gov. Mark Warner Restricted Access To Pseudoephedrine

The number of methamphetamine labs seized by police in Virginia has 
decreased by two-thirds since the state restricted access to one of 
the drug's key ingredients.

Since October, when then-Gov. Mark Warner ordered retailers to keep 
pseudoephedrine-based drugs behind the counter, police have found 
just nine meth labs.

During the same four-month period from the previous year, 30 labs 
were raided, said 1st Sgt. John Ruffin of the Virginia State Police.

"It has definitely made it more difficult for them [drug abusers] to 
obtain pseudoephedrine," Ruffin said. The nonprescription 
decongestant is the active ingredient in both cold medicines such as 
Sudafed and home-cooked batches of methamphetamine.

Warner's order -- which could become permanent if a bill currently 
before the General Assembly passes -- directs retailers to place the 
medication behind their counters and maintain a log of transactions.

Customers must show an ID and are limited to three packages, or no 
more than 9 grams, per sale.

Ruffin and others in law enforcement said Warner's order was one of 
the reasons for a decrease in methamphetamine production, which began 
to show up several years ago in far Southwest Virginia and has 
mushroomed since.

Meth lab busts shot up from 34 in 2003 to 82 the following year. The 
number dropped last year to 64.

The drop was especially dramatic in Washington County, which led the 
state in meth lab busts with 26 in 2004.

"We would have people going into Wal-Mart and pretty much clearing 
off the shelves" of Sudafed, Sheriff Fred Newman said.

Last year, the county found just six meth labs. "That pretty well 
shut it down," Newman said of the governor's order.

But restricting access to pseudoephedrine was not the only reason for 
the decrease. Devoting more police manpower to the problem was 
another factor, Ruffin said, as was turning cases over to federal 
prosecutions that carried mandatory minimum sentences of five years in prison.

"Once these people go to jail, they don't come back to make it 
again," said Raymond Melick, resident agent in charge of the Drug 
Enforcement Administration's Roanoke division.

At the height of the region's meth problem, drug agents were finding 
dealers who were selling their recipes and giving lessons on how to 
cook up the drug for $1,000. "Once you get those people, you've cut 
the head off the snake," Ruffin said.

Also known as crystal meth or crank, methamphetamine is produced when 
pseudoephedrine is mixed with household chemicals at a high 
temperature during a dangerous process that can generate toxic fumes. 
The drug is snorted or injected for a high that can last for days.

Warner's order restricting access to pseudoephedrine requires 
retailers to keep a log of each transaction that includes the 
customer's name and the amount of medication they purchased. But 
unlike in other states, that information is not entered into a 
database made available to police.

The logs, which must be kept for at least year, can be checked by 
police at the store as part of an ongoing investigation, said Jeff 
Caldwell, a spokesman for the state Health Department.

Civil libertarians have raised some concerns about the process. While 
the American Civil Liberties Union does not object to restricting 
access to a drug if it poses a legitimate threat, "the issue is 
collection of data about individuals and what happens to that data," 
said Kent Willis, executive director of the group's Virginia chapter.

"This is part and parcel of the trend of government collecting more 
and more data about more and more individuals."

Warner's order expires July 1, the date new laws passed by the 
General Assembly usually take effect.

A bill sponsored by Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, would allow 
only licensed pharmacists to sell medications with a "detectable 
quantity" of pseudoephedrine. Customers would be required to show 
photo identification and would be limited to 9 grams a month.

The bill is before the House Courts of Justice Committee.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman