Pubdate: Fri, 02 Jul 2004
Source: Tahlequah Daily Press (OK)
Copyright: Tahlequah Daily Press 2004
Contact:  http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2636
Author: Bob Gibbins
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/pseudoephedrine

OFFICIALS SAY LAW IS WORKING

Methamphetamine labs in Oklahoma have dropped off 70 percent since
state lawmakers approved restrictions on the sale of cold medicines
that contain the illegal drug's key ingredient, authorities say.

Local authorities said they've seen the reduction in numbers of labs
here, but they believe the figures may be on the way back up.

Tahlequah Police Chief Norman Fisher said the police department
doesn't get a lot of labs, but he likes any steps taken to make it
harder to get the necessary materials. He said the department has been
involved in the seizure of labs in buildings, as well as mobile labs.

"We don't see as many labs in town," he said. "I was glad to see the
change in the law."

Cherokee County Sheriff Delena Goss said her office has personnel
working with the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service on illegal drug
activity, including manufacturing methamphetamine. She said deputies
have noticed a dropoff in labs.

"We've experienced a drop in the number of labs we've seized," she
said.

Both Fisher and Goss said they know Cherokee County residents are
going out of state to purchase products containing pseudoephedrine.

"We have information that some people are going to Arkansas [to get
pseudoephedrine]," Goss said. "We think we'll start to see an increase
back up to our old number of labs."

"People in this part of the state are not that far from Arkansas,
Texas or Kansas," Fisher added. "It would be nice if those states
would follow our [Oklahoma] lead and limit sales of
pseudoephedrine."

Law enforcement authorities in Texas have reported an increase in the
number of people crossing the state line from Oklahoma to buy the
products since the law went into effect.

The dramatic decline, recorded over the past three months, followed
passage of legislation this spring that banned store sales of popular
medications, like Sudafed and Claritin-D, that contain
pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in methamphetamine.

The medications may still be sold in pharmacies, where they must be
kept behind the counter and sold only to people who present photo
identification and sign for the medicine.

A total of 90 methamphetamine labs were reported to the Oklahoma State
Bureau of Investigation in March by law enforcement agencies
statewide, authorities said. That figure declined to 64 in April and
fell further to 29 in May, officials told the AP.

Gov. Brad Henry signed the legislation into law on April 7, and it did
not become fully effective for another 60 days.

"I don't believe I have ever seen a piece of legislation have this
immediate impact," said Scott Rowland, attorney for the Oklahoma
Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control. "I quite frankly am
surprised that it is this high."

OBN officials said a further decline in meth labs is possible in the
coming months as pseudoephedrine inventories are consumed by producers.

The legislation was drafted to restrict access to the highly addictive
drug's main ingredient and provide new tools to force addicts into
treatment programs, said Rep. John Nance, R-Bethany, the legislation's
author.

The measure, the only one of its kind in the nation, received
bipartisan support from lawmakers desperate for a way to slow what
some have described as a meth epidemic in the state, which reported
1,236 labs in 2003.

Instead of chasing meth labs, narcotics agents can devote resources to
other investigations, including long-term drug trafficking cases.

Fewer meth labs will mean less money spent on cleaning up hazardous
materials commonly used in the production process. Each lab costs up
to $2,500 to clean up, authorities said.

"The bottom line is this law is working," Rowland said. "The impact is
great, the inconvenience is minimal."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin