ARNOLD ATTORNEY ALTERS METH BILL TO SURVIVE CHALLENGES

It Would Require ID to Buy Cold Pills

An attorney for Arnold has changed the wording of an anti-methamphetamine
bill so that the measure will withstand constitutional challenges, says
Mayor Mark Powell.

Earlier this month the Arnold City Council shelved legislation that would
have made it harder for criminals to buy cold pills containing
pseudoephedrine, an essential meth ingredient. The measure would have
forced shoppers to give personal information, such as a Social Security or
driver's license number, to retail clerks to buy more than one box of pills
that could be used to make meth. Police would be able to review who is
buying cold pills and determine whether drug suspects were buying pills
throughout Arnold.

Although two council members and the mayor supported the original bill,
five others were swayed by City Attorney Robert Sweeney, who cautioned that
the measure could violate shoppers' First Amendment rights.

Councilman Phil Amato, who wrote the original legislation, has been
critical of Sweeney for not bringing his concerns to the council earlier.
At the meeting, Amato called the bill "the strongest legislation possible."

Amato could be right.

State law limits the amount of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine
that customers can buy, and several cities, including Arnold and Festus,
have passed measures that force the pills to be stored behind counters,
where they are more difficult to steal.

But no Missouri city has approved legislation that would demand stores keep
a record of who buys cold pills. Some police say such legislation is needed
because meth cooks and their associates often must buy pills at dozens of
stores before they can get enough pseudoephedrine to make even a small
batch of meth.

Powell says Sweeney helped write the new legislation, which doesn't specify
what type of identification stores can use to identify customers buying
cold pills. Powell says he expects the council to vote on the new measure
at a meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight at City Hall.

"The (new) ordinance would lessen the burden on retailers," Powell said.
"They decide what form of identification they require, and how they do it
is at their discretion."

Powell said that the bill initially might not deter many meth cooks from
making drugs but that a significant blow could be struck against meth
production if other towns followed Arnold's lead.

"We're attempting to set an example for other communities and the state,"
Powell said. "It is aggressive, but we have an aggressive problem that we
need to deal with."