METH DEALERS MAKE COLD, FLU SEASON WORSE

The crack cocaine trade is violent. The White House has labeled
marijuana as the nation's most substantial drug problem. County
sheriffs throughout the United States, however, see the
methamphetamine trade as a bigger problem.

For some lucky reason, the meth trade hasn't hit Cabell County as
hard as it has neighboring counties. Part of that could be the
flourishing crack trade here. Or the meth is here, and we just don't
know about it, yet. But we can't expect meth to avoid us forever.

West Virginia is attempting to deal with the growing meth problem by
making it harder for people to buy over-the-counter cold medicine.
Many cold remedies contain pseudoephedrine, an ingredient used in
making meth. Law enforcement authorities are also warning retailers
to watch for purchases of large amounts of other materials that can
be used to make meth in a home lab, such as brake cleaner, coffee
filters, drain cleaner, lithium batteries, matches and salt.

International gangs control much of the illegal meth trade, but West
Virginians tend to be do-it-yourselfers. The recipe for making meth
can be found on the Internet. It won't be long before the inventive
minds behind illegal drugs find a way around the cold remedy restrictions.

The rest of us will be stuck with more aggravations when we have cold
or flu symptoms. When we go to buy our over-the-counter medicines, we
will have to provide a photo ID, and we will have to provide a
signature. Individuals will be allowed to buy only three packages a
month without a prescription. People who run pharmacies say they may
limit their inventories of over-the-counter cold medicines because of
these new restrictions.

Lawmakers in Oregon are considering something more drastic. A bill in
that state's legislature would require a prescription for cold
medicines containing pseudoephedrine.

When cold and flu season strikes, we will have meth addicts to thank
for making life more miserable for the rest of us in many ways.