Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jan 2005
Source: Greenwood Commonwealth (MS)
Copyright: 2005 Greenwood Commonwealth
Contact:  http://www.gwcommonwealth.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1541
Author:  Shelia Byrd, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

HOUSE, SENATE HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS FOR FIGHTING METH

One option: Lock up cold medicine used to make the drug

JACKSON - Mississippi lawmakers are searching for ways to fight the state's
growing methamphetamine problem, and one of the proposed options is locking
up the cold medicine used to make the drug.

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Sen. Sidney Albritton, a former narcotics agent, has filed a bill that would
prohibit off-the-shelf purchases of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, both used
in cold tablets.

Albritton, R-Picayune, said the drugs are key ingredients in the production
of meth, a highly addictive and potent drug, also made with ammonia and
lithium from car batteries.

"It is literally destroying thousands of lives in Mississippi," said
Albritton, who worked several meth cases as an agent with the Pearl River
Basin Narcotics Task Force from 1999 to 2001.

Under his bill, the cold medicine could only be purchased from the
pharmacist or a pharmacist technician. A prescription isn't needed, but
consumers must show identification.

He patterned the Methamphetamine Reduction Act after a law adopted in
Oklahoma that banned over-the-counter sales of Sudafed and other
decongestants used to produce meth. The state ordered that the medicines be
placed behind pharmacy counters.

Albritton said the law is a success; within 10 months meth seizures in
Oklahoma are down more than 80 percent.

The Judiciary A Committee on Wednesday considered another approach with a
bill that restricts to four the number of cold medicine packages a consumer
could buy. Action was delayed on the bill to give lawmakers more time to
gather information from the attorney general's office and the Mississippi
Bureau of Narcotics.

Judiciary A Chairman Ed Blackmon, D-Canton, said he's opposed to prohibiting
off-the-shelf sales of the cold medicines. He said the house bill is
supported by retailers. "We have over 600 products that have these two
precursors in them and they have been in the public domain for a very long
time ... The better way would be to restrict access to it," Blackmon said.

His committee is expected to consider the bill again next week.

Between 2000 and 2004, the number of methamphetamine cases handled by the
Bureau of Narcotics grew from 558 to 770, said Delores Lewis, MBN
spokeswoman.

The problems associated with the drug include combustible ingredients,
creating the potential for explosions and contamination from the dumping of
poisonous byproducts into sewage system, streams and fields.

Then, there is the social impact. Children are often in the homes of addicts
who cook the drug. Thousands of "meth orphans" are removed from homes
nationwide.

Capt. Pat Pope of the Coastal Narcotics Enforcement Team said the size of
meth labs is increasing on the Gulf Coast. He said the drug used to be made
a few grams at a time; now labs are producing meth by the ounce.

Pope said lawmakers should restrict the sale of cold medicine used in meth.

"Our state is turning into a huge toxic waste dump," Pope said Wednesday.
"If we don't get a hold of the situation now, it's going to cost us dearly.
The average lab cost $4,000 to clean up."

Senate Judiciary B Committee Chairman Gray Tollison, D-Oxford, will hold a
hearing next Wednesday on meth bills. He said representatives from the
Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the attorney general's office and the state
Department of Mental Health will testify.

Tollison, who supports Albritton's bill, said the dangers of meth outweigh
any burden placed on consumers by restricting sales.

"We want to do what we can to cut off the supply," Tollison said.

Attorney General Jim Hood on Wednesday said he expects a compromise to be
reached between the retailers and law enforcement.

"What I would at least like to see is that somebody has got to be at the
counter and turn around and hand it to them because if you leave it out
there on the shelves, a lot of them are stealing it," Hood said.
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