ANTI-METH RULES FOR COLD PILLS START JULY 15

A head cold won't be enough for legitimate buyers of Sudafed and similar
pills under a new state law.

They'll also have to buy from a pharmacy in limited quantities, and show
photo ID proving that they're 18.

The restriction is part of legislation Gov. Matt Blunt signed Wednesday, an
act meant to dump Missouri's status as the national leader in
methamphetamine lab seizures.

Pseudoephedrine, a legal decongestant used in Sudafed and similar
medications, is the primary ingredient in the illegal manufacture of meth.

"We are taking a drastic step because we have a drastic, terrible problem in
our state with methamphetamine," Blunt said Wednesday in Springfield.

The law he signed hours earlier in Jefferson City allows only pharmacists or
pharmacy technicians to sell pills containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

Retailers without a pharmacy have until July 15 to remove the products from
their shelves. Pharmacies have until then to place the medications behind
the counter.

Liquids and liquid gel caps are exempt from those restrictions, but not from
limits on quantities purchased.

For the past few years, Missouri has led the nation in meth lab "incidents,"
defined as the seizure of active labs, of equipment or of dump sites.

Police reported 2,788 such busts last year, besting California, the
runner-up.

"That is not something we want to be No. 1 in," said state Rep. Brad Roark,
R-Springfield, who attended Wednesday's news conference with other
legislators.

The new law mirrors Oklahoma legislation that took effect in April 2004.
There, law enforcement officials credit the tougher restrictions for
reducing the number of meth lab incidents - from 105 in March 2004, the
month before the law took effect, to 57 in April 2004.

"If it does for us what it did for Oklahoma, we'll be thrilled," said state
Sen. Norma Champion, R-Springfield who helped sponsor the Missouri
legislation.

Pharmacies have until Sept. 13 to begin logging the names and addresses of
buyers, and the amount of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine they purchase.

The limit without a prescription on pills is 9 grams - roughly 75
120-milligram tablets or 150 60-milligram tablets - within 30 days.

That's more than the dosages manufacturers recommend, Blunt noted.

Liquid and liquid gel cap products will be limited to 9 grams per purchase.

Unlike the Oklahoma law, Missouri's doesn't establish a statewide computer
network to track sales to individuals.

Blunt said he was concerned the cost would burden pharmacies. But Jim
Osborn, a pharmacist at a Super D Drug Store in south Springfield, said the
impact would be minimal.

Pharmacies could use a computerized system already in place to handle
prescription insurance programs, he said.

"It could be done. I don't know if it's going to be necessary to do, but I
don't think it would be that big of a problem," Osborn said.

Capt. Ron Replogle, director of the Missouri Highway Patrol's Division of
Drug and Crime Control, said tweaks to the law might be necessary.

For instance, he's heard of at least one other state where a meth lab was
found that relied on the liquid, not the pill form, of pseudoephedrine.

But the legislation Blunt signed Wednesday was a good start, Replogle said.

"We're not only satisfied, but we're also very excited ...," said Replogle,
who added that fewer meth labs would mean more time for officers to pursue
other crimes.

"We literally don't have (enough time) in the day to do the work," he said.

A violation of the law would be Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a
$1,000 fine and one year in jail.