PROPOSAL TARGETS COMMON COLD MEDICINE

Concord - A common cold medicine would be available only by
prescription under a proposal aimed at controlling methamphetamine
production in New Hampshire.

Methamphetamine is highly addictive and can cause mental illness and
physical deterioration very quickly. About a dozen small meth labs
have been discovered in the state during the past 18 months.

A second measure would create a crime for possessing many commonly
available ingredients used to make methamphetamine. Prosecutors would
have to prove the person intended to make the drug. Penalties also
would be added for harming police and others who respond to a meth lab.

The bill also would create a new felony for making the drug in a
multi-residential complex, such as an apartment or motel, and allow
courts to order restitution for costly cleanups of the toxins created
in "cooking" meth.

Rep. Bill Butynski, D-Hinsdale, told the House Health, Human Services
and Elderly Affairs Committee on Thursday his bill would require
prescriptions for "single-entity" pseudoephedrine products, not
products that combine the chemical with other ingredients.

Pseudoephedrine is one of the chemicals used to make methamphetamine
and is found in common cold medicines such as Sudafed and Claritin-D.

Butynski said his bill targets single-entity pseudoephedrine
medicines because they can more easily be used to make
methamphetamine than combination cold medicines.

Lobbyist Rick Newman said his clients -- 30 independent pharmacies --
support the bill as a better alternative to a competing proposal that
would require that pharmacists keep track of who buys the drug. He
said pharmacists are concerned they will be held liable if they have
to check identification and keep logs of drug purchases.

Even if New Hampshire imposes controls, consumers still will be able
to buy the drug over-the-counter in other states or on the Internet,
Newman said.

Steven Lapinskas of Nashua urged lawmakers to keep consumers like him
in mind when they act. He said requiring a doctor to write a
prescription will increase the price from the $5 it costs now to buy
over-the-counter to perhaps $100 after factoring in a visit to the
doctor to get the prescription.

"I ask you to balance the effect on the end user," he said.

Jacqui Abikoff, executive director of Horizons Counseling Center in
Gilford, took no position on Butynski's bill, but urged lawmakers to
make access to the drug harder. She said children are stealing
packages off store shelves and selling them to meth labs in exchange
for alcohol or other drugs.

"I'd rather be inconvenienced than see our children impacted this
way," she said.

The New Hampshire Medical Society, New Hampshire Association of Chain
Drug Stores, Wyeth and New Hampshire Retail Merchants Association
oppose the bill.

The second bill also proposes making it harder for meth labs to
obtain needed ingredients to make the drug. It lists 58 chemicals
that authorities could use as evidence someone intended to make meth.
Many of the chemicals are available legally, such as iodine, lye and
drain cleaner.

"Most of us have some of these things around our house," the bill's
prime sponsor, Rep. Deborah Hogancamp, told the House Criminal
Justice and Public Safety Committee.

Prosecutors would have to prove someone intended to make meth to get
a conviction, she said.

Attorney General Kelly Ayotte testified that police need the bill so
they can shut down meth labs preparing to "cook" up the drug, not
just those already making the drug. Now, police can't make arrests
based on those suspicions, she said.

Ayotte suggested applying law to potential labs anywhere, not just in
buildings.

Ayotte also proposed amending the bill so first-time offenders face
15-30 years in prison and up to a $500,000 fine whether they are
caught making the drug or preparing to cook it.

Claire Ebel of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union objected that
innocent people could be charged if they possess the chemicals listed
in the bill but aren't in the process of cooking meth.

"A lot of this stuff is in my basement," she said.

Ebel said she is concerned an innocent person might be targeted by
overzealous police. Even if acquitted, the person would have to hire a lawyer.

"You do not need to prove intent to charge," she said.

The New Hampshire Association of Realtors also objected to a
requirement that people selling their homes disclose to buyers if a
meth lab had ever been on site. Jeff Keeler said homeowners should
have a way to certify the property is clean of any toxins.