Pubdate: Sun, 04 Jul 2004
Source: Courier, The (Russellville, AR)
Copyright:  Russellville Newspapers, Inc
Contact:  http://www.couriernews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3265
Author: Mark Scott

RESTRICT DRUG COMPONENT SALES, PROSECUTOR TELLS SUBCOMMITTEE

The sale of cold medicines that contain essential methamphetamine 
ingredients should be restricted in Arkansas, following the lead of 
surrounding states that have controlled drug-component sales, a local 
prosecutor told a congressional subcommittee this week. David Gibbons of 
Clarksville, the prosecuting attorney for the Fifth Judicial District, said 
over-the-counter cold medication containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine 
should be distributed by pharmacists rather than from store shelves, a move 
that would likely reduce drug makers' access to the substances. Those 
components are major ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine, the 
most-used illegal drug in Arkansas. Gibbons was testifying before the House 
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources in 
Bentonville Monday, as one of a handful of experts in the tracking of 
methamphetamine production and use invited to testify during the four-hour 
hearing. Congressman Mark Souder of Indiana, the chairman of the 
subcommittee, hosted the hearing Monday, along with U.S. Rep. John Boozman, 
Arkansas' 3rd District representative. Boozman said Souder has acknowledged 
that Arkansas has a significant methamphetamine problem.

Gibbons told Souder and Boozman that methamphetamine cooks use 
over-the-counter could medications, such as Sudafed and Claritin D, to make 
their product, traveling to multiple retail stores to get enough pills to 
make methamphetamine. He said nine grams of pseudoephedrine will normally 
make 4.5 to 7 grams of methamphetamine. Gibbons said "a stake would be 
driven through the heart of the methamphetamine problem" in his district if 
Congress passed legislation requiring ephedrine or pseudoephedrine to be 
only dispensed by a licensed pharmacist or a licensed pharmacist 
technician. "If pseudoephedrine and ephedrine can be made inaccessible to 
cooks, they simply cannot synthesize methamphetamine," Gibbons said through 
a written statement entered into the Congressional Record. "Again, without 
pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, it is impossible to make methamphetamine." 
Gibbons testified that the number of methamphetamine cases prosecuted by 
his office have risen astoundingly since 1997, based on the fact the drug 
is relatively easy to make. Through May of this year, more methamphetamine 
cases have been identified by his office than the entire 2001 year. "The 
use, distribution and manufacture of methamphetamine is a pervasive and 
malignant problem which puts a tremendous strain on the criminal justice 
system in the Fifth District," Gibbons said, adding that a majority of the 
cases he prosecutes involve methamphetamine. He cited five specific aspects 
of methamphetamine that strains his office: -- An inordinate amount of 
manpower is required to investigate labs and to prepare and execute search 
warrants.

- -- An inordinate amount of manpower and resources are required for the 
clean-up of lab sites.

- -- Methamphetamine labs require extensive crime laboratory analysis because 
of the number of items recovered in meth labs. -- Trials typically take two 
or three times as long as trials required for drug possession or delivery 
cases.

- -- Prison systems are typically, and justifiably, longer, putting a strain 
on the prison system.

Boozman credited Gibbons for his testimony and knowledge, saying Gibbons 
was "on the front lines" of combating the methamphetamine problem in the 
state. "David did an excellent job of explaining the tremendous amount of 
manpower it takes from the time the meth lab is discovered until the time 
the case is prosecuted," Boozman said. "I wanted people like David Gibbons 
to testify at this hearing — people who are out fighting this battle on a 
day-to-day basis." While in Congress, Boozman has advocated a three-prong 
approach to solve the state's illegal drug problem: Education or demand 
reduction, strong punishments for offenders and rehabilitation of addicts.

He said the three-pronged approach reflects "a balanced, proactive policy 
that encourages people not to use drugs and gives addicts a chance to 
change their lives." Boozman is a member of the Speaker's Task Force for a 
Drug-Free America and the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control 
Methamphetamine. The field hearing focused on the problem of 
methamphetamine in Arkansas. Public officials and representatives from 
non-governmental organizations testified about every aspect of Arkansas' 
fight against methamphetamine abuse including enforcement, treatment and 
prevention. Their testimony was permanently recorded in the Congressional 
Record, just as if they had testified in front of the committee in 
Washington, D.C. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D