N.C.'S WAR ON METH SCOURGE MAY LEAVE US WITH DIFFICULT CHOICES

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper is keeping his eye on the ball
when it comes to fighting methamphetamine in the state.

We applaud him for the effort. Meth is a not a serious problem in Western
North Carolina.

It's far beyond that. It's an epidemic.

Five years, ago, nine meth labs were busted in this state. Last year, the
number reached 322, and more than 80 have been shut down in 2005. The
majority of the labs are right here in the mountains.

There is no good news when it comes to meth. It's easy to make, and the
ingredients to make it aren't hard to obtain. It's incredibly addictive,
and it's not uncommon for users to go on binges that last for days.
Sometimes those binges end in death. The production of meth can create five
or more pounds of toxic byproducts that literally require a decontamination
team for cleanup. The fumes from a meth lab can sicken any children nearby.

It's nasty stuff, and it's spreading.

Cooper's initial strategy to deal with meth was to stiffen penalties for
those producing this witches' brew.

His new strategy may be more controversial.

Following the model of a law passed in Oklahoma, Cooper wants restrictions
on the sale of some popular over-the-counter cold and flu medicines that
contain some of the active ingredients used in meth production. Oklahoma
passed its law after losing three peace officers in the line of duty in
meth-related incidents. Its law prohibits the purchase of pseudoephedrine
amounts above nine grams in a 30-day period; that's about a dozen packs
containing 24 doses of medicine. (Liquid capsules are exempt, as it's
harder for meth producers to parse out the pseudoephedrine in them).

Oklahoma says its law has cut meth lab busts by as much as 80 percent in
parts of the state.

Under the law, the cold medicines have to be sold by pharmacists or their
assistants, and consumers would have to show ID and sign a log. The
Associated Press reported Cooper said in an interview, "If we're able to
limit the main ingredient, it should result in a dramatic reduction in the
number of these labs in North Carolina. I believe that the evidence is so
clear that the Oklahoma law should be adopted."

Needless to say, some people are worried about this, and some of those
worries are quite legitimate. We've not seen an underworked pharmacist
anywhere lately, and having them take time out to dispense cold medicine
and do paperwork seems burdensome. More to the point, if you've got a
family member who has come down one evening with one of the ever-present
bugs going around, you're going to need a 24-hour pharmacy or you're out of
luck. Fred Eckel of the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists said,
"We're concerned about the loss of access to what is a very important drug
for many people in terms of colds and other respiratory problems." And Fran
Preston with the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association said meth
cooks could easily find a way around the law, like purchasing the drugs off
the Internet or from adjoining states. That would mean "You haven't done
anything to curtail the (meth) production, but you have inadvertently,
absolutely hindered the consumer in a way they don't understand," says Preston.

The Merchants Association is discussing a compromise the would put
medicines with the most pseudoephedrine behind the counter, where they
would be dispensed like items such as cigarettes, only with a limit of
three packs on purchases.

That might work, and it's worth a try. If it doesn't pan out, though, the
Oklahoma model may be the one we have to follow. There is no overstating
how serious the meth problem is. We are on the verge of losing a generation
to this scourge.

It's an epidemic.

And epidemics have to be stopped.