Pubdate: Wed, 04 May 2005
Source: Town Talk, The  (Alexandria, LA)
Copyright: 2005sThe Town Talk
Contact:  http://www.thetowntalk.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1027
Author: Mike Hasten
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

BILL FIGHTING METH LABS ADVANCES

BATON ROUGE -- The illegal manufacturing of methamphetamine is rampant
in rural Louisiana, Grant Parish Sheriff L.R. "Pop" Hattaway told a
Senate committee that approved restricting the sales of Sudafed and
other over-the-counter drugs used in makeshift labs.

Testifying in favor of Senate Bill 24 by Sen. James David Cain, R-Dry
Creek, Hattaway said his department has discovered and destroyed 10
active meth labs in the past six months in Grant Parish. Another 10
abandoned labs were found within the past year.

"If there are that many in that rural area, how many are in our area?"
asked Sen. Mike Michot, R-Lafayette.

"I've never seen a drug as addictive or destructive as crystal meth,"
Hattaway said. "Once you get on crystal meth, it's a nightmare and
living hell."

The Senate Juciciary C Committee unanimously approved SB24, which
would direct merchants that sell cold and allergy drugs containing
ephredrine to put them behind the counter or install video cameras to
keep watch on the racks. Either way, no customer could buy more than
three packages.

Methamphetamine is made by combining ground-up pills with a number of
substances including alcohol, toluene, ether, drain cleaner that's
rich in sulfuric acid, phosphorous from matches or road flares,
fertilizer, acetone, gun-cleaning fluid, lithium from batteries and
cat litter. The toxic combination is then "cooked" to a thick solution
and then dried, broken and crushed.

"Crystal meth is pretty much the drug of choice in Louisiana," Cain
told the committee. "It happened in our family. It destroys people."

Cain said his bill is patterned after an Oklahoma law that has been
successful in shutting down meth labs by limiting the primary ingredient.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that drug agents believe
Oklahoma may come close to wiping out small-time methamphetamine
manufacturing by tracking sales of cold medicines.

Meth lab seizures dropped more than 70 percent since Oklahoma put
pseudoephedrine tablets behind pharmacy counters last year.

Drug agents suspect the remaining meth labs are getting the large
quantities of pseudoephedrine by going to a number of outlets each
day, or by buying tablets over the counter in bordering states.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin