NEW METH LAB LAW MAKING AN IMPACT

CLARKSBURG - It has been more than seven months since a state law
went into effect limiting the sale of common cold products that can
be used to create methamphetamine.

And state law enforcement officers are cautious, but optimistic, that
the law is working.

"The law is a young law, and it appears to be helpful," said Harrison
County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Albert Marano.

"Just from hearing the narcotics agents talk, it appears that it has
become more difficult for these drug makers to obtain
over-the-counter ingredients that they typically used before," Marano said.

The meth bill limits how much of such products can be bought in a
month's time to 9 grams of each drug. It takes four boxes with 20
caplets each of adult maximum-strength cold and allergy medicine to
equal 9 grams of pseudoephedrine.

That is an amount that far exceeds the needs of an average person,
but not enough for a drug user to make significant quantities of
meth, a member of the Harrison/Lewis Drug and Violent Crimes Task
Force has said.

Cold products are now sold by a pharmacist, and a log must be kept of
who buys them.

There has been a drop in the number of meth labs found in West
Virginia, said Jeff Wallenstrom, the agent in charge of the Drug
Enforcement Agency in West Virginia. Other factors likely contribute,
as well, he said.

From Oct. 1, 2004, to Jan 31, 2005, just before the law went into
effect, there were 96 meth labs cleaned up in the state by the DEA, he said.

But from Oct. 1, 2005, to Jan. 31, 2006, after the meth law took
effect, only 72 labs have been cleaned up by various law enforcement
agencies, Wallenstrom said.

"Now probably a lot of different factors could go into that, but by
sheer numbers they are less this year," Wallenstrom said.

The decline comes after three years of steady increases in the number
of labs found in West Virginia.

During the 2003 fiscal year, 77 labs were cleaned up. In 2004 that
jumped up to 224 meth labs and in 2005 it was 387.

"It leveled off and is dropping somewhat," Wallenstrom said. "We
sponsored the meth summit in April 2005 with local and state law
enforcement and Gov. Joe Manchin as a sponsor. And that really was a
result of the climbing number of meth labs."

The meth problem in Harrison County has not gotten any worse since
July, said Harrison County Prosecutor Joe Shaffer.

"It is kind of difficult to tell after just one year. After five
years you can determine if it helped a little better, but (the meth
law) seems to have helped out," he said.

Other factors, such as more community awareness, also have likely
contributed to a plateau of meth problems, Shaffer said.

Recently there was a case where a child under 12 identified a meth
lab in her home, Shaffer said.

"That lends itself to the benefit of education and community
awareness, particularly with children," he said.

When the database of those who purchase the behind-the-counter drugs
gets up and running, meth making and meth labs in the area should
decrease even more, said Clarksburg Police Chief John Walker.

"What we are finding in some cases is (meth makers) go to one
pharmacy and buy a couple packs, then go to another pharmacy or
another town and buy a couple," he said. "I think that the desire for
it is still there. But I think it has been harder to get."

The law has been an inconvenience, but by now much of the public
realizes that they have to sign for many common decongestant
products, said Diane Collins, pharmacy team leader at CVS Pharmacy in
Clarksburg.

"There is more record keeping and that has to be audited before it
will be of any benefit," she said. "And that would be a monumental project."

Most customers now know that it is not the pharmacies who insist they
sign their name to get the drugs, she said.

"A lot of folks will try to buy two packages and it is probably a
legitimate sale," Collins said. "That really puts them at a
disadvantage. All they have to do is go to another pharmacy to buy more."

Drug companies have talked about changing the doses of the
medications, she said.

"Hopefully they won't be as abusable. We are hoping we will not have
to have them behind the counter," Collins said.