METH BILL WILL MAKE IOWA COMMUNITIES SAFER

Now Lawmakers Should Provide More Resources For Treatment

The Iowa Legislature's passage of a bill that limits the sale of
pseudoephedrine - a decongestant that can be used to make the illegal drug
methamphetamine - is a triumph for public safety. The legislation adopted
Wednesday is believed to be the toughest in the nation.

Lawmakers hope less access to this ingredient will reduce the number of
meth labs in the state, something that happened after Oklahoma passed a
similar bill.

That's a critical goal. Meth labs put people at risk. Meth addicts lose
parental rights to their children. They lose jobs. They lose their lives.
The labs ruin property. Just this week, a Des Moines man discovered that
someone had turned an outbuilding on his property into a meth lab. A fire
broke out, and once again emergency workers were put in harm's way from a
dangerous lab.

Fewer labs will reduce the hazard, but the bill - which Gov. Tom Vilsack is
expected to sign into law - is only one of many measures necessary to
address the meth scourge.

Those must include more education and treatment as well as drug courts. The
bill does include a requirement that people arrested for manufacturing and
related crimes undergo a substance-abuse evaluation and supervision by a
probation officer before being released on bond from jail. The Legislature
needs to direct more resources toward treatment for addicts.

There is another serious concern: While the bill is an important step in
fighting meth labs, its lack of regard for Iowans' civil liberties is
dismaying.

To purchase many decongestants, customers will be required to go to the
pharmacy counter, show a government-issued photo ID, sign a logbook and
include their address. Small doses of liquid or gel-caps could still be
sold over the counter, but customers will have to show ID and sign. That
logbook will be accessible to law-enforcement officers, according to the bill.

Officers won't need to get a warrant to check the log for a specific
suspect. Instead, the bill will allow them to browse through the book and
go on a fishing expedition for someone who might be making meth or might be
home with a sinus infection.

In Oklahoma, no warrant is required, either. In that state, however,
customers can buy gel-caps and liquid medications over the counter without
signing a logbook.

Because of civil-rights concerns, it's tempting to suggest the governor
veto the bill. The problem is, Iowa needs tough legislation. Sending it
back to the General Assembly for revision risks ending up with a
watered-down version considering all the pressure brought to bear by lobbyists.

Iowa's devastating meth epidemic must be attacked from every angle. Fewer
toxic, combustible meth labs will mean safer communities across the state.
The Legislature deserves credit for taking action.