Pubdate: Sat, 07 May 2005 Source: Joplin Globe, The (MO) Copyright: 2005 The Joplin Globe Contact: http://www.joplinglobe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/859 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) RETAILERS JOIN FIGHT ON METH Oklahoma made great strides in the war against methamphetamine when legislators wrote a law requiring that cough medicines containing a key ingredient of meth to be placed behind counters and that purchasers identify themselves. Other states are following suit, including Missouri and Kansas. Giant retailers Wal-Mart and Target are joining the fight. Rather than waiting for legislation in states where they operate, they are requiring that cold tablets be removed from shelves and put behind a pharmacist's counter. No prescriptions would be required to obtain the medicine, but buyers would have to sign for their purchases. We would like to see other retailers follow that lead. Meth is destroying lives. Everyone, from the public to retailers to law enforcement, has a stake in seeing that this highly addictive scourge is more difficult for manufacturers to make through the restriction of access to pseudoephedrine and, as a consequence, hard to find on the street. Putting cold medicines - or more appropriately, the pseudoephedrine ingredient - behind counters and requiring that buyers sign for the purchase has worked in reducing the number of meth labs in Oklahoma. But there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Meth labs are seized every day, and many of those involved start up again once they make bail. The reason is that meth is inexpensive and relatively easy to make, and profitable. Those who use meth knowingly put their lives in jeopardy. So do those who blend the volatile mixture of chemicals. Toxic fumes and exploding labs also put police and citizens at risk. We applaud Wal-Mart and Target for stepping up to the plate in the battle against meth without waiting for new laws. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake