N.C. HOUSE SHOULD FOLLOW SENATE'S LEAD IN WAGING WAR ON METHAMPHETAMINE

Members of a judiciary committee sent a bill to the full state House
last week that fails to take the steps needed to rein in North
Carolina's epidemic of methamphetamine labs.

The committee's proposed bill would continue to allow cold remedies
that contain an ingredient essential to the manufacture of
methamphetamine to be sold at any retail outlet, including grocery
and convenience stores. State Attorney General Roy Cooper is fighting
for a measure that would place the over-the-counter drugs behind
pharmacy counters. The drugs in question contain either
pseudoephedrine or ephedrine.

"I'm concerned that this latest proposal still allows criminals
access to key meth ingredients at thousands of convenience and
grocery stores across North Carolina. Law enforcement will struggle
to keep track of sales, and meth makers will face a detour rather
than a roadblock," Cooper said of the House version of the bill. "I'm
pleased that the House has included more penalties but the key to
stopping this scourge is limiting access to the main ingredient. We
know that other states have only succeeded in cutting the spread of
these deadly labs when they put the main ingredient behind a pharmacy counter."

The state Senate passed a version of the bill that would put all
tablets containing pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed and Claritin,
behind the pharmacist's counter, would require customers to show
photo identification to buy them and would restrict purchases to nine
grams a month without a prescription.

The state House of Representatives in Oregon has gone even further,
voting overwhelmingly last week for a bill that would make Oregon the
first state to require a prescription for certain cold medicines. The
bill was sent to the Oregon Senate on a 55-4 vote. It is expected to
pass the Senate and has the support of Oregon's governor.

Meth is a highly addictive drug that leads to psychotic or violent
behavior and to brain damage. It's cheap to produce and the
production results in pounds of toxic leftovers that require
decontamination of the premises where it is manufactured. In other
words, meth labs are hazardous waste sites that can cost up to
$20,000 - with taxpayers footing the bill - to clean up.

Since enacting legislation similar to the bill approved by the N.C.
Senate by a 45-2 vote, Oklahoma has seen an 80 percent drop in meth production.

The evidence is overwhelming that eliminating access to
pseudoephedrine and ephedrine is the only way to stop highly toxic
and potentially deadly "mom-and-pop" meth labs, that often endanger
young children, from springing up all over the state.

Cooper and sheriffs and district attorneys around the state support
the stricter Senate version. Pharmaceutical companies and the N.C.
Retail Merchants Association support a weaker alternate version.

It appears the majority of House judiciary committee members paid
more attention to the lobbyists than to the state's law enforcement
officers. Here's hoping the full House will do otherwise.