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. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman