METH BILL TO HELP VALLEY?

WASHINGTON Central Valley meth hunters could get new tools and more
money under a big bill the Senate approved Thursday.

The changes would make it harder to buy certain cold medicines.
Tougher penalties could await drug traffickers. More than a
half-billion dollars could be used to train police, clean up meth
labs and help the children of addicts.

"This is a giant step forward," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said
Thursday afternoon, "and it's been hard to do."

By an 89-10 margin, after brushing aside a Democratic filibuster
effort, the Senate approved broader anti-terrorism legislation that
included the methamphetamine provisions. The antiterrorism bill,
dubbed the USA Patriot Act, was controversial among civil libertarians.

The anti-meth package, a version of which was introduced several
years ago, also faced hurdles. Feinstein acknowledged Thursday that
"it's been very difficult to legislate in this area" because of
resistance from pharmaceutical companies and retailers.

Both face constraints under the legislation that's expected to win
approval by the House as early as Tuesday and then go to the White
House for President Bush's signature.

Cold medicines containing the popular meth ingredients
pseudoephedrine or ephedrine would have to be placed behind a counter for sale.

Prescriptions won't be needed, but customers will have to show
identification and sign logbooks. They also will be limited to buying
3.6 grams or 120 pills a day and no more than 9 grams a month.

Feeling the political pressure, major firms including Wal-Mart,
Albertsons, Rite-Aid and Longs Drugs last year said they would
voluntarily place cold medicines behind counters.

"Altering and-or abusing drugs goes against the most basic and
fundamental principles of pharmacies and the pharmacists that operate
them," Warren F. Bryant, president and chief executive officer of
Longs Drug Stores, said last year.

Meds go behind counters Sept. 30

Stores that don't have pharmacy counters will have to obtain approval
through the Drug Enforcement Administration for alternative means of
securing cold medicines. The sale limit requirements will take effect
30 days after Bush signs the bill, while the medicines will have to
be placed behind counters by Sept. 30.

"The pharmaceutical industry is a very powerful lobby in Congress,"
said Bill Ruzzamenti, director of the Fresno-based Central Valley
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, "and I'm sure they weren't too
gleeful about this."

The Central Valley HIDTA since 1999 has targeted the methamphetamine
trade between Sacramento and Kern counties.

State Department was hesitant

While officials say some of the region's biggest meth labs have
moved, several over the border to Mexico, the Central Valley remains
red hot. In November 2003, Stanislaus and San Joaquin County
investigators cracked a meth ring and seized four labs, 40 pounds of
finished methamphetamine and, according to the task force's report to
the White House, 480,000 pseudoephedrine pills.

"It's the right thing to do," Ruzzamenti said of the new legislation,
"and it's the right time to do it."

But the State Department had some hesitation behind the scenes, as
diplomats worried about provisions requiring reports on the five
countries that export the most meth precursor chemicals.

Those new reporting requirements survived.

In a sign of the methamphetamine's geographic dispersion, Missouri
Republican Sen. Jim Talent joined Feinstein in pushing the bill.

Talent on Thursday called the legislation "the most comprehensive
anti-meth bill ever introduced."

The cold medicine sale restrictions are modeled on what some states,
including Oklahoma and California, already imposed. The federal
legislation stiffens existing penalties and adds some new ones - for
instance, lengthening prison terms for manufacturing meth in a house
where children live.

Financial reinforcements also will be provided. A "Meth Hot Spot"
program that provides $66 million a year for training and equipment
would gain $99 million a year for the next five years. It could help
local law enforcement agencies buy hazardous materials suits that can
cost upward of $5,000 each but are necessary in cleaning meth lab sites.

"That gear is quite expensive," Ruzzamenti said.

An additional $20 million a year is authorized for a "drug-endangered
children" program.