FOLLOW OREGON'S LEAD ON METH INGREDIENTS

Congress should take note of the decline of methamphetamine labs in
Oregon since that state got tough on the sale of the components that
make up the horrifying drug.

The number of meth-lab busts in Oregon was reduced by half in the
past year since a registry began for over-the-counter cold medicines
used in meth production. Washington imposed a similar law last summer.

Oklahoma, the first state to create a registry, has seen meth-lab
busts decrease by nearly 80 percent.

The Senate is scheduled to take up renewal of the Patriot Act this
week, which has legislation attached that would limit the daily
purchase of cold medicines with pseudoephedrine, a major component of
meth. The law would also have the medicines placed behind the counter
and require buyers to sign a registry and show identification.

Oregon, where meth has been particularly troublesome, is going to
make pseudoephedrine a prescription drug. The state's efforts to curb
meth might seem excessive, but until key ingredients of the drug are
difficult to accumulate, communities will continue to be ravaged.

States hit hard by meth cannot do it alone. A federal law would help
combat meth's spread. The drug no longer is confined to garage
operations. Dealers and makers can gravitate to states with loose laws.

Congress also needs to take on the flow of international meth. Last
summer, a nationwide sting by federal agents revealed that Western
Washington is a jump-off point to the East Coast for Mexican meth,
where in that country it is made in "super labs."

Washington's and Oregon's measures to eradicate meth are encouraging.
Life becomes more difficult for drug makers when the flow of
ingredients is stemmed. Federal backing on a national and
international level would help save lives.

The meth problem is too important to be tagged onto something as
contentious as the Patriot Act. Congress must find a way to pass the
meth law regardless of what happens to the Patriot Act.