Author: Matthew Hathaway

STATE'S NEW ANTI-METH MEASURE WOULD TRUMP ARNOLD ORDINANCE

At Least One City Official Wants Holden to Veto Bill

In passing what some are calling the toughest anti-methamphetamine
legislation of its kind in the nation, Missouri legislators voted to cancel
an even tougher Arnold ordinance regulating the sale of some meth ingredients.

Arnold officials are disappointed but differ on whether Gov. Bob Holden
should veto the bill, which would restrict how much medication containing
ephedrine or pseudoephedrine a store can sell or where retailers must store
those products. At issue is a provision called a pre-emption clause, which
would void tougher laws passed by some cities.

Most recipes for methamphetamine start with either ephedrine, which is
costly, regulated and difficult to obtain, or pseudoephedrine, which is
found in many over-the-counter cold remedies. To produce even a small
amount of meth, most drug makers buy or steal hundreds of cold pills
containing pseudoephedrine.

Current state law forbids retailers from selling more than three boxes or 9
grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine products to a customer. An Arnold law
goes even further. It forces stores to keep a record of all customers who
buy more than one box of the medicine and to allow police to inspect the log.

Rather than keep tabs on customers who buy multiple boxes, most large
retailers in Arnold, including Target, Schnucks and Wal-Mart, now allow
customers to buy only one box a visit.

But the Arnold ordinance could become history if Holden signs into law new
meth legislation.

Any ordinances restricting ephedrine or pseudoephedrine sales and adopted
after Dec. 22 would be voided by the state legislation.

Municipal ordinances in St. Peters and St. Charles requiring the products
to be kept behind store counters would be unaffected, but a similar St.
Charles County law passed on Dec. 23, the day the pre-emption clause kicks
in, would be scrapped.

Mayor Mark Powell supported the Arnold law and said he regretted that it
could be trumped by state legislation. But he said that the decisions by
Arnold and other cities might have spurred the Legislature to toughen state
meth laws.

"If the city of Arnold had not passed such a tough ordinance, the state
might not have taken any action at all," Powell said.

Powell said the state measure "isn't as tough as I would like, but it's a
step."

Arnold Councilman David Venable said that he wanted Holden to veto the
state law.

"I do realize that (the state legislation) might be considered the toughest
law in the country at this point," Venable said. "However, any law that
takes away a local government's right to assist in fighting the war on
drugs is just ill-advised."