METH-LAB FIGHT MAY LIMIT COLD MEDICINE

Cities: Fountain valley proposal would restrict customer purchases.

Fountain Valley-Illegal drug manufacturers who use Nyquil, Sudafed and other
common cold medicines to make methamphetamine in home laboratories are the
target of a proposed ordinance,the first of its kind in Orange County.

The city ordinance would limit customers to purchasing three packages of
cold medicines containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or other decongestants.
That means a person with a cold could buy one package of cold medicine, one
sore-throat spray and one pack of throat lozenges daily, and that's it.

Illegal-drug manufacturers frequently break down these over-the -counter
products into methamphetamine.

Police Capt. Rod Gillman recalled a case in which two men in a van were
stopped on a routine traffic violation. Officers discovered a meth lab set
up in the back. The men were making methamphetamines from ephedrine.

Gillman said about three meth labs have been shut down in this year,
including the van.

The ordinance - initiated by Councilman Chuck Conlosh, a Huntington Beach
police officer - says three packages, or a total count of 100 pills, could
be bought by the same customer per day.

Police and council members agree on the ordinance's shortcoming: There is no
way to monitor the purchases and nothing stops customers from going from
store to store or to another city.

Council members gave the ordinance initial approval Tuesday. They are
expected to vote on its adoption July 21.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett