Pubdate: Tue, 08 Nov 2005
Source: Florida Today (Melbourne, FL)
Copyright: 2005 Florida Today
Contact:  http://www.flatoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/532
Note: Does not accept out of town LTEs on drug policy
Author: Mike Madden , Gannett News Service

COLD MEDICINES HARDER TO BUY

Congress May Follow States' Anti-Meth Laws Restricting Sale

WASHINGTON - Finding relief for that runny nose might get tougher 
soon, thanks to other people who are using common cold medicines to 
make an illegal, highly addictive drug.

Following the lead of more than 30 states, Congress is considering 
legislation to restrict sales of pseudoephedrine, the main active 
ingredient in Sudafed, Claritin-D and other popular cold remedies. 
It's also a key ingredient in methamphetamine, a drug that has swept 
the country the past decade, overwhelming law enforcement officials 
and devastating communities.

Under the congressional proposals, pills containing pseudoephedrine 
would be kept behind pharmacy counters, and purchasers would have to 
show identification and sign a form each time they bought the pills. 
Buying more than 7.5 grams per month would be banned. That's about 
two boxes of full-strength Sudafed.

The legislation also would commit more resources to local anti-meth 
law enforcement programs and to stop the importation of ingredients 
used to make meth.

The Senate already has approved the legislation. The House is 
considering a measure that wouldn't restrict pseudoephedrine sales. 
The two chambers are working to settle the differences between the bills.

The Senate proposal, sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., 
and Jim Talent, R-Mo., is based on an Oklahoma law that took effect 
in recent years. Oklahoma officials say it has cut dramatically meth 
production in the state, though crystal meth - made from different 
chemicals - still poses a problem.

"It's a wonderful law," said Charles Pearson, the sheriff in Muskogee 
County, Okla., where reports of meth labs have fallen dramatically 
since cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine were put behind 
pharmacy counters. "As far as finding your backyard methamphetamine 
lab, it's just a thing of the past. We still got 'em, we probably 
always will, but it's nothing like it was."

Meth has become a national scourge. The fiercely addictive drug hooks 
users, taxes social service agencies and contaminates locations where 
it is "cooked."

Congress has sought to deal with the problem, but many states in the 
Midwest and the South have already set up rigorous laws designed to crack down.

National estimates of the costs of combating the drug are not 
available, but local officials around the country say meth takes up 
more and more of their resources.

Tennessee earmarked $7 million for anti-meth programs this year, 
according to Gov. Phil Bredesen's office. Indiana's anti-meth task 
force estimated that the drug costs the state at least $100 million 
each year. Meth cost Portland, Ore., and its surrounding county 
$102.3 million last year, according to an analysis by ECONorthwest.

Oklahoma's pseudoephedrine law has been well received by the public, 
even though it makes it harder to get cold medicine, law enforcement 
officials and pharmacists say. Police can pull pharmacies' logs of 
who buys pseudoephedrine, allowing them to track anyone who tries to 
buy the maximum amount allowed at more than one store per month.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores, a trade group that 
represents pharmacies and drug stores, supports the national 
proposal, as do several national law enforcement groups. The powerful 
lobby for the drug industry, Pharmaceutical Research and 
Manufacturers of America, says it hasn't taken a position.
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