GLOBAL WAR ON METH

Meth isn't just about illegal activities and ruined lives.

This highly addictive and destructive drug is also about the perfectly
legal substance that is used to produce it.

Limiting the availability of a precursor chemical called
pseudoephedrine is a job of international proportions.

Gov. Janet Napolitano made that point at a recent meeting of governors
from the border states in the United States and Mexico. She won
unanimous support for a resolution calling for more international
cooperation in tracking bulk shipments of pseudoephedrine.

Arizona and other states have already taken steps to make it harder
for small-time meth operations to obtain cold remedies that contain
pseudoephedrine.

Anybody who buys decongestants knows that some medications are kept
behind the counter and require proof of identity to obtain.
Law-abiding citizens suffer a little inconvenience for the sake of
reducing the supply of a deadly drug.

When the local restrictions went into effect, critics predicted that
criminal syndicates would make up for any decreased meth production.

Indeed, about 80 percent of the meth consumed in the United States is
made by Mexican-controlled cartels that operate on both sides of the
border, according to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Nevertheless, limiting access to pseudoephedrine at the local level
had the benefit of keeping neighborhoods safer by reducing the number
of meth labs, which produce both criminal activity and toxic-chemical
waste.

It was one part of a larger strategy.

Mexico also contributed to the effort by limiting the amount of bulk
pseudoephedrine that can be legally imported. It was done in response
to a survey that found Mexico was importing 350 tons of
pseudoephedrine even though the nation only needed about 50 tons to
meet the legitimate need for decongestants, says Marco Lopez,
Napolitano's senior adviser on international issues. In addition to
limiting the amount of pseudoephedrine that could be imported, Mexico
also restricted importation to pharmaceutical companies in 2004.

Of course, that didn't stop illegal importation. New trafficking
patterns emerged.

Napolitano says bulk pseudoephedrine is being shipped to the United
States and smuggled into Mexico to make methamphetamine that is then
smuggled back to the United States.

The U.S. has laws that allow limits on the importation of this
precursor drug, but Napolitano thinks more can be done to limit the
legal and illegal importation.

She got governors on both sides of the border to agree at last month's
binational meeting.

The resolution they signed calls on other countries to recognize their
role. China, Germany and India are major exporters of pseudoephedrine.
They need to look at the amount of this substance they are selling and
evaluate whether it is likely that their product is being used to
produce illicit drugs.

This summer, an illegal shipment of over 19 tons of pseudoephedrine
was seized at a Mexican port before it could reach the meth cartel
waiting for it. The chemical had been produced in a Hong Kong-based
pharmaceutical company. China should look carefully at the amount of
this chemical being exported.

The effort to keep meth off the streets includes little things, like
the hassle you face to buy decongestants. It also means nations around
the globe have to take responsibility for their role.

Combating meth is about international cooperation.