ARKANSAS LAWMAKERS URGED TO LIMIT COLD-MEDICINE ACCESS

Prescription status sought for ingredient used in meth labs

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Limiting access to some common cold medicines could
cripple the manufacture of methamphetamine in a state that's No. 1 in
seizures of clandestine labs per capita, proponents told legislators at a
hearing last week.

Law enforcement officials urged lawmakers on Thursday to place restrictions
on the purchase of pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in Actifed, Sudafed and
more than 130 other over-the-counter cold, sinus and allergy medications.

Legislators are studying legislation or regulations to restrict access to
the substance by requiring that it be sold by prescription only by
pharmacists, or that buyers at any retail outlet sign for the drugs before
they buy them.

"One of my big concerns is the affect that [methamphetamine] has on families
in our state," said Rep. Jan Judge, D-Fayetteville, who led the discussion
before the Joint Interim Judiciary Committee. "I'd like to see us do
something."

Increasingly, pseudoephedrine is the one ingredient that meth labs can't do
without, since the Legislature put restrictions on the sale and possession
of ephedrine in 1997, a prosecutor testified.

The law also made possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture
methamphetamine a felony, but it did not restrict the purchase of the common
medication.

Methamphetamine makers have all but abandoned ephedrine, and legal drugs
containing pseudoephedrine are being bought by the case at convenience
stores and other outlets, law officers said.

"The cooks have found out that they can now go and buy pseudoephedrine and
not have to worry about purchasing a controlled drug, and it works just as
well," said Norman Kemper, one of three state Crime Lab chemists who helps
dismantle seized meth labs.

Prosecutor Tim Williamson of Mena said restricting the purchase of
pseudoephedrine would put a dent in the meth production.

"It's the most important thing we can do as far as our meth problem in
Arkansas," Mr. Williamson told the panel. "It will make a difference."

Nancy Bukar of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association said that while
pharmaceutical manufacturers don't want to see their products used in making
illegal drugs, her organization opposed such restrictions.Requiring
prescriptions for the drugs would put pharmacists in the role of police
officers, Ms. Bukar said, "and we believe that limiting access to legitimate
products would be problem not only for the retail entities but for consumers
as well."

Other states have effectively fought the problem with aggressive
prosecutions, she said, and through voluntary measures taken by some
retailers to limit quantities of the drugs customers can purchase.

"There are better ways to try to quell this problem than restricting
consumer access," Ms. Bukar said.

Sen. Mike Everett, D-Marked Tree, said he would not favor requiring a
prescription to buy the common drugs but would not object to signing a form
to purchase them.

"It just doesn't strike me as that great a burden considering the problem
that we have," Mr. Everett said.

Meth lab seizures in Arkansas increased from 242 in 1997 to 554 last year,
Mr. Kemper said. Authorities already have seized 578 clandestine labs this
year.