LEGAL DRUG IS KEY TO METH

Is it possible that methamphetamine, for more than 20 years Clark
County's most sinister illegal drug, can be controlled?

The addictive stimulant is still flowing freely into the community in
the hands of Mexican smugglers, officials say.

That's one reason the number of local meth labs raided here has been
small, officials say. It's easier to just buy it.

But change may be coming, said Cmdr. Rusty Warren with the
Clark-Skamania Drug Task Force.

Mexico last year tightened its restrictions on pseudoephedrine, the
ingredient in many cold medicines that's the most common way to cook
meth.

A doctor's prescription is required to get cold medicines containing
the substance in Mexico, according to the Associated Press.

The country has well-known crime problems involving drugs, so
enforcement of restrictions there could take a while.

Warren thinks it will happen, but is wary.

"As Mexico moves toward being 'pseudo-free,' I think we're going to
see an increase of meth labs" here, Warren said.

That hasn't happened yet, he said.

Busts last month included:

Police seized 1 1/2 pounds of meth at an alleged drug house in the
Burton area.

In a raid near Orchards, police said they busted a dealer who had
$15,000 worth of meth in his pants pocket.

A possible good sign for Clark County residents is that the price of
meth has risen to between $22,000 and $25,000 per pound, Warren said.
He said that could reflect a declining supply in this area.

If the flow of finished meth from Mexico can be slowed, and if Warren
is correct in predicting more local labs will spring up, measures are
well under way to clamp down on cold-medicine purchases by meth cooks.

Oregon law requires a prescription to get such medicines.

Meth-related crime "is regarded by Oregon law enforcement agencies as
the area's greatest drug threat," according to a report released
Thursday by the Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program.

Washington law doesn't require a prescription, but it says the
medicines must be kept behind the counter, and that pharmacists must
log personal information from buyers. The problem with that is
"smurfing," in which meth cooks go from store to store, buying their
legal limit at each, Warren said.

A massive statewide computer database is being discussed that might
prevent that.

"If they go to the next store and try to purchase it, the sale would
be declined," Warren said.

However, Warren figures such a computer system would cost too
much.

He's recommending that Washington lawmakers make pseudoephedrine a
prescription drug, and said he's working with state Rep. Deb Wallace,
D-Vancouver, to make it happen.

Another possible good sign in the fight against meth: In some cold
medicine formulations, pseudoephedrine is being replaced with
decongestants that can't be used to make meth.

Warren's drug task force recently lost two of its four Vancouver
Police Department detectives due to declining revenue forecasts.

The interagency task force also has officials with the Clark County
Sheriff's Office, Washington State Patrol and Skamania County
Sheriff's Office.

Warren said he's heard of no plans to disband or make further cuts in
the task force.