Pubdate: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 Source: Bowling Green Daily News (KY) Copyright: 2005 News Publishing LLC Contact: http://www.bgdailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1218 Author: Hayli Morrison Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) PENCE TOUTS TEAMWORK TO FIGHT METH Combatting Drug Requires Law Enforcement, Treatment, Lieutenant Governor Says In a visit to Bowling Green on Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Steve Pence outlined a "multi-faceted approach" to fighting what he called the methamphetamine epidemic. Pence's plan includes enhanced enforcement, more treatment options and more education in schools about the dangers of the drug. "Without this comprehensive approach, I think we're going to keep seeing the same problems," Pence said Wednesday at a meeting of the Bowling Green Noon Rotary Club. The most recent legislative change affects the way cold medicines containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine - key meth ingredients - will be sold to the public. A similar law that was passed in Oklahoma in 2004 cut meth-related incidents in half there, Pence said. When Senate Bill 63 goes into effect June 20, the powder and hard tablet forms of those medicines will be sold only behind pharmacy counters and only in limited quantities. The methods of selling the liquid, liquid gel cap and liquid capsule forms of the cold medicines will not change, as those forms cannot currently be used as ingredients in meth. Those purchasing the ephedrine and pseudoephedrine drugs in hard tablet form must be at least 18 years old, present a photo identification and sign a log book, recording the date of sale and type and amount of product purchased. Each person will only be allowed to purchase a maximum of three packages per transaction and a maximum of 9 grams within 30 days, but may be allowed to buy more with a doctor's prescription. "No customer would ever take that. If they were, I'd imagine they would be taking a prescription or something that would be more effective," said Steve Sheldon, registered pharmacist and owner of Nation's Medicines, where Pence held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the new legislation. "I don't think it will affect that many people," Sheldon said. "It's somewhat of an inconvenience, but it's worth it. I'd say this is the best bill ever passed." Other legislation passed in the General Assembly's most recent session established harsh penalties for those caught cooking meth in the presence of children, a felony offense. Pence said he would like to see more treatment options, including more inmate beds for in-prison drug treatment and increased utilization of drug courts, a treatment-oriented alternative to incarceration. Pence said the ODCP is looking into outlining standards and guidelines for who is allowed into the drug courts that receive state funding. "This is not soft on crime. It is smart on crime," he said. "Should we throw them in jail? Let me tell you, that costs money and when they get out of jail, they have the same problems. We're going to have to have a range of treatments available." The state has allocated $500,000 to be awarded to nine counties within the next two weeks for the purchase of beds for an in-prison drug treatment program. The state has yet to announce which counties will receive the money, but coordinators are looking for "pilot projects," said Teresa Barton, executive director of the Office of Drug Control Policy. Warren County led the state in 2004 with 63 meth labs and meth lab waste dump sites discovered. This year, 15 meth labs have been found so far. "We probably don't get more than 10 percent," Pence said. "If there are that many meth labs in your own backyard, how are you going to keep that from getting to your kids?" Tommy Loving, director of the Bowling Green-Warren County Drug Task Force, said Warren's high numbers were due in part to the fast-growing popularity of the drug, as well as aggressive enforcement and reporting of statistics to the state. He said SB 63 and other recent legislation will ideally make task forces more effective. "We feel Lt. Gov. Pence and the Office of Drug Control Policy are being very supportive of the drug task forces statewide," Loving said. "We are hopeful that putting Sudafed behind the counter and requiring ID and limiting the amount you can purchase will have the same effect here as it did in Oklahoma. If it does, it will free us up to work on other drug crimes that we can't get to in as timely a manner as we would like." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom