METH LAB RAIDS FALL SHARPLY IN STATE

In October, Then-Gov. Mark Warner Restricted Access To Pseudoephedrine

The number of methamphetamine labs seized by police in Virginia has
decreased by two-thirds since the state restricted access to one of
the drug's key ingredients.

Since October, when then-Gov. Mark Warner ordered retailers to keep
pseudoephedrine-based drugs behind the counter, police have found
just nine meth labs.

During the same four-month period from the previous year, 30 labs
were raided, said 1st Sgt. John Ruffin of the Virginia State Police.

"It has definitely made it more difficult for them [drug abusers] to
obtain pseudoephedrine," Ruffin said. The nonprescription
decongestant is the active ingredient in both cold medicines such as
Sudafed and home-cooked batches of methamphetamine.

Warner's order -- which could become permanent if a bill currently
before the General Assembly passes -- directs retailers to place the
medication behind their counters and maintain a log of transactions.

Customers must show an ID and are limited to three packages, or no
more than 9 grams, per sale.

Ruffin and others in law enforcement said Warner's order was one of
the reasons for a decrease in methamphetamine production, which began
to show up several years ago in far Southwest Virginia and has
mushroomed since.

Meth lab busts shot up from 34 in 2003 to 82 the following year. The
number dropped last year to 64.

The drop was especially dramatic in Washington County, which led the
state in meth lab busts with 26 in 2004.

"We would have people going into Wal-Mart and pretty much clearing
off the shelves" of Sudafed, Sheriff Fred Newman said.

Last year, the county found just six meth labs. "That pretty well
shut it down," Newman said of the governor's order.

But restricting access to pseudoephedrine was not the only reason for
the decrease. Devoting more police manpower to the problem was
another factor, Ruffin said, as was turning cases over to federal
prosecutions that carried mandatory minimum sentences of five years in prison.

"Once these people go to jail, they don't come back to make it
again," said Raymond Melick, resident agent in charge of the Drug
Enforcement Administration's Roanoke division.

At the height of the region's meth problem, drug agents were finding
dealers who were selling their recipes and giving lessons on how to
cook up the drug for $1,000. "Once you get those people, you've cut
the head off the snake," Ruffin said.

Also known as crystal meth or crank, methamphetamine is produced when
pseudoephedrine is mixed with household chemicals at a high
temperature during a dangerous process that can generate toxic fumes.
The drug is snorted or injected for a high that can last for days.

Warner's order restricting access to pseudoephedrine requires
retailers to keep a log of each transaction that includes the
customer's name and the amount of medication they purchased. But
unlike in other states, that information is not entered into a
database made available to police.

The logs, which must be kept for at least year, can be checked by
police at the store as part of an ongoing investigation, said Jeff
Caldwell, a spokesman for the state Health Department.

Civil libertarians have raised some concerns about the process. While
the American Civil Liberties Union does not object to restricting
access to a drug if it poses a legitimate threat, "the issue is
collection of data about individuals and what happens to that data,"
said Kent Willis, executive director of the group's Virginia chapter.

"This is part and parcel of the trend of government collecting more
and more data about more and more individuals."

Warner's order expires July 1, the date new laws passed by the
General Assembly usually take effect.

A bill sponsored by Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, would allow
only licensed pharmacists to sell medications with a "detectable
quantity" of pseudoephedrine. Customers would be required to show
photo identification and would be limited to 9 grams a month.

The bill is before the House Courts of Justice Committee.