Pubdate: Thu, 10 Mar 2005
Source: News-Enterprise, The (KY)
Copyright: 2005 News-Enterprise
Contact:  http://www.newsenterpriseonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1663
Author: Rebecca Johns
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

STATE TARGETS METH INGREDIENTS

Keeping a key ingredient out of the hands of methamphetamine cooks is one 
signature away from becoming law after state lawmakers passed an anti-meth 
bill Tuesday.

A bill that sailed through the House and Senate would limit the 
availability of over-the-counter cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine 
and other products containing ephedrine by restricting the amount consumers 
can purchase at one time.

Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant that is commonly used in over-the-counter 
cold medications. Ephedrine is a stimulant often used in weight-loss products.

The manufacture and sale of methamphetamine, a highly addictive and 
destructive illegal drug, is a growing problem across the country.

Kentucky State Police officials say meth labs continue to flourish. Wayne 
Edwards, director of the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force, said 
18 meth labs were dismantled in its jurisdiction in 2004.

The bill that now goes before Gov. Ernie Fletcher would require that the 
products be sold under the supervision of a pharmacist or pharmacy 
technician and would move it behind a counter or into a locked case. It 
currently can be purchased at many stores, such as dollar stores, grocery 
stores, convenience stores and pharmacies.

Kentucky State Police narcotics Detective Curtis Mouser said buyers often 
come into town and spend two or three hours going from store to store 
buying the products.

"They either trade it, cook it themselves or sell it," Mouser said.

Edwards said several stores in the area already restrict the sale of the 
products or will notify police when a customer buys a large quantity.

"We're having some preventative effect," Edwards said.

Local pharmacists would have to change the way they do business to comply 
with the law.

"We already restrict the sale of pseudoephedrine products to only two 
packages at a time," Walgreens pharmacist Keith Barns said. "If the law 
passes, we would have to create shelf space in the pharmacy to move those 
products to."

Medicine Shoppe pharmacist Larry Russell said the new law would be an 
expense, "but it will be worth it if it protects our children," he said. "I 
see it as a good thing if it helps to curb the production of meth."

The bill also would restrict purchases to 9 grams, or 300 30-milligram 
pills, per month. Consumers would have to sign to receive the products.

Methamphetamine can be made from either anhydrous ammonia or red 
phosphorous mixed with pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, which is extracted 
from a legal product through chemical processes. Labs using the anhydrous 
ammonia method are the most common to western Kentucky and specifically to 
Hardin County, according to Kentucky State Police Detective Terry Moore.

KSP Trooper Steve Pavey said police are finding more labs using the 
anhydrous ammonia method in rural areas such as southern Indiana and 
Missouri because the product is common in fertilizers used by farmers.

The bill also creates a separate felony for the manufacture of meth in the 
presence of children. Anhydrous ammonia mixed with pseudoephedrine or 
ephedrine creates such a volatile combination that cleaning a lab can be 
dangerous. For every pound of meth produced, Moore said, there are 7 pounds 
of hazardous waste created, which is often disposed of in creeks or in the 
woods. The long-term effect of meth labs on the environment is unclear, 
Moore said.

"It's destroying our country," said Moore.

Fletcher is expected to approve or veto all bills currently before him 
within the next two weeks.
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