WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO TACKLE METH PROBLEM?

For the better part of the last year, local, state and federal law
enforcement officials have engaged in a furious effort to educate this
community on the devastation that methamphetamine is causing.

They've coupled this with a vigorous enforcement policy, evidenced by the
fact that federal prosecutions are up 400 percent over the last year and
local departments are working meth cases on a daily basis.

Education and enforcement, along with treatment, were the focal points of a
plan announced last summer that was expected to be the first step in
bringing meth makers and users to their knees.

And yet, at a forum May 22 at Owensboro Community College, Daviess County
Sheriff Keith Cain offered this sobering synopsis of where the problem
stands today: "It has a stranglehold on this community, and if we don't get
a hold on it, it's going to destroy us," he said.

The question is, how do we get a hold on it? What we're doing now just
isn't working. It may be helping us to tread water, but what's going to
happen when that next wave comes crashing down?

That is, in no way, a knock on our local law enforcement. They have gone
above and beyond the call of duty in fighting this battle, and if everyone
were as committed as they are, we'd probably not be talking about a meth
epidemic.

But we do have an epidemic, and it's clear we've yet to find the cure.

Momentum is building in the legal community for legislation that would
limit the availability of the ingredients used to make meth. The primary
target is pseudoephedrine, common cold medication that is transformed into
this insidious drug through a few basic chemical steps.

One local narcotics officer has said he would like to see legislation that
would require pseudoephedrine to be dispensed only by pharmacists. It would
cause some inconvenience, he said, but those inconveniences would be far
outnumbered in benefits.

Such legislation, in a number of different forms, has been successful in
other areas. In 1997, more than 300 meth labs were uncovered in Jackson
County, Mo., where Kansas City is located. As legislation began to limit
the supply of precursors, that number dropped to below 100 within two years.

Law enforcement has practically begged local retailers to voluntarily
monitor the sale of precursors and most have answered this plea. But some
haven't. We still hear stories about cases of pseudoephedrine being sold
out the backdoor of convenience stores for $500 or more.

While we don't think it's time to legislate a product that is not only
legal, but of great benefit to many, we fully understand that these
precursors must be kept out of the hands of meth makers. It's up to
retailers to voluntarily do this, otherwise legislation may be the only answer.