ANTI-METH MEASURE ADVANCES IN HOUSE

Officials Warn That Restricting Sale Of Cold Medicine Won't End Scourge.

Even as lawmakers unanimously endorsed a meth-fighting proposal Wednesday,
drug makers are figuring out how to get around a looming crackdown on the
sale of some cold medicines.

The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee voted 10-0 to advance House
Bill 1223 to the full House for consideration. The proposal, sponsored by
Rep. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, would put cold medicine tablets containing
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine -- two ingredients in meth -- behind a
pharmacy counter.

Customers would have to be 18 or older, would have to sign for it and might
be asked by a pharmacist to show identification to verify age. Liquid
medicine and gel caps, which are harder to make meth from, would remain
over-the-counter.

However, lawmakers and law enforcement officials warn this isn't a cure-all
for the state's exploding meth problem.

That's because meth also comes from "super labs" -- major facilities that
cook meth in large quantities and buy the ingredients in bulk from other
states.

And the legislation won't affect a significant portion of meth use in the
state and country, because much of the drug comes in from Mexico, said
State Police drug lab director Eric Lawrence.

"It's a two-headed monster," he said.

Meth cookers also have figured out how to make the drug from the liquid
form of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Lawrence told the committee last
week he could take 10 minutes and show lawmakers how to do it.

In addition, local police already are seeing meth makers find other ways to
make the dangerous, addictive drug.

In the Bloomington State Police district, which covers Monroe, Brown, Owen,
Greene and Lawrence counties, officers busted about 100 meth labs in 2003.
Last year, that number dropped to 46. Just last week, the district, which
recently gave its meth team officers double duty as traffic officers, made
two meth lab busts.

In nearly every one of those drug discoveries, cold tablets were found,
said Sgt. Joe Watts.

"Right now, everyone's using cold medicine," he said. "But they're finding
other ways to get around that." He declined to say what those ways are.

The committee broadened House Bill 1223 on Wednesday to require law
enforcement to improve reporting on meth labs and children found in them. A
court also could order drug treatment for some meth abusers. Those were
ideas in Rep. Trent Van Haaften's House Bill 1685, which did not get a hearing.

Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, who served on the state's meth abuse task
force, said the final bill must include restrictions on the sale of some
cold medicines if the state wants to make a "significant dent" in the meth
problem.

But Grant Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council, called the
legislation "extremely onerous."

"Convenience stores will be out of the cough and cold business," he said.
"Many of our law-abiding customers will be significantly inconvenienced
because of this legislation."

Because the legislation would require a pharmacist to give out the
medicine, customers seeking cold relief at night would be out of luck at
groceries or other stores without 24-hour pharmacies.

On Wednesday, the bill resonated with lawmakers who acknowledged the role
meth may have played in the death of 10-year-old Katlyn Collman, of
Crothersville. Her body was found Jan. 30, five days after she disappeared.

According to court documents, she drowned in a creek with her hands tied
behind her back. The man charged with her murder, Charles James Hickman,
tried to scare Katie into keeping quiet about a possible meth crime she
saw, the documents stated.

"Meth's a wicked, wicked drug. We need to put a lot of resources in
prevention," said Rep. Andy Thomas, R-Brazil.