Pubdate: Sat, 19 Mar 2005
Source: Fayetteville Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2005 Fayetteville Observer
Contact:  http://www.fayettevillenc.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/150
Author: Jon Riddle, Retired DEA
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

COOPER'S METHOD OF ATTACK ON METHAMPHETAMINE IS RIGHT

I couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief when I read the two
responses to March 13's Forum question regarding the control of
over-the-counter cold medication. It is a shame that people take such
an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to this issue.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper is right on the mark in his efforts
to attack the spread of methamphetamine by restricting the sale of
methamphetamine's "Achilles' heel" - pseudoephedrine. I recently
retired after a 37-year career with the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration. I became a special agent in 1983. Since 1996, my
particular area of expertise has centered around the methamphetamine
epidemic.

I served for five years in the DEA's Riverside, Calif., office, which
had the dubious distinction of being known as the methamphetamine
capital of the nation. In 2002, I was transferred to DEA headquarters
in Arlington, Va., and served in the Dangerous Drugs and Chemicals
section.

This section was directly responsible for, among other things, the
oversight of international and national investigations and initiatives
specifically targeting the spread of methamphetamine and its precursor
chemical pseudoephedrine. What your readers don't seem to realize is
that without the precursor chemical pseudoephedrine, you have no
methamphetamine. Recent legislative initiatives in a number of states,
led by Oklahoma, have established strict control in the manner in
which pseudoephedrine is sold. Oklahoma requires that pseudoephedrine
be dispensed by a pharmacist, requires that the customer produce proof
of identification and sign a log book. There is no requirement to
visit a doctor or acquire a prescription. The direct result of this
action was an 80 percent reduction in the number of small toxic
methamphetamine laboratories in the state of Oklahoma. What is unknown
is the number of innocent children whose lives were saved through
corresponding reduction of the fires and explosions that are so
commonplace in these types of clandestine laboratories. What the
residents of North Carolina, and the nation, must decide: Is the
reduction of the number of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories,
and the associated dangers of these laboratories, worth the minor
inconvenience of having to go to a drug store, show your ID and sign a
log book to get your cold medication? The answer is obvious: It is
overwhelmingly worth it. I tip my hat to Cooper. Keep up the good work.

Jon Riddle retired from the DEA in January and moved to Pinehurst in
February.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin