WELL WORTH THE COST

This letter is in response to "A needless expense" (Letters, Sunday, April 3.)

My family moved to Albany in 1998, to a part of town that ended up
having a large amount of drug traffic. I could go out on my front
porch at any time of the day or night and see tweakers walking
around, talking to themselves, falling down, yelling at people and so on.

We have had every bike our three boys have owned since moving here
stolen, a total of five bikes.

My shop has been broken into and several thousand dollars worth of
tools and miscellaneous items stolen. Police sirens blaring almost
every night. This all happened prior to 2005.

Since pseudoephedrine has been taken off the counter, I have only
experienced one crime at my home. Things are way better in our
neighborhood, and I feel much safer.

When this law came into effect in 2005, I too was frustrated by the
inconvenience and increased cost. But by taking this off the counter,
it appears it has almost eliminated these criminals from making user
amounts of meth very easily, and made it somewhat more difficult to get.

I tell everyone what a difference I have seen. I am sorry that we all
have to get a prescription now for anything with this chemical in it,
myself included; I take Claritin D.

But I for one have seen a huge improvement and am very satisfied with
this law. It is frustrating that we have to pay the price through
more expensive health care, but to me it is well worth it.

Michael Cannon, Albany (April 3)