Series: Meth In The Mother Lode (Part 3b)

LODE AHEAD ON LIMITING SALE OF CERTAIN DRUGS

To purchase certain knives at Sonora's Wal-Mart, an employee has to unlock
a glass case to get them for you.

Same goes for a pack of Sudafed.

A main ingredient for making methamphetamine, Sudafed and similar cold
medicines containing the drug pseudoephedrine are now treated by local
retailers the way weapons and cigarettes are.

Some lawmakers suggest that meth labs will continue to sprout and thrive in
rural areas unless Congress makes it more difficult to buy cold medicines
that contain ingredients for the drug.

The scars of meth are inflicted on Mother Lode families in myriad ways:
Exposure to the drug in the womb, contamination from toxic chemicals used
in home-based meth manufacture, explosions and fires, long-term neglect
from parents obsessed with their drug habits, physical and sexual abuse.

More than half of the sheriffs interviewed for a National Association of
Counties survey released this month said they considered meth the most
serious problem facing their departments.

About 90 percent of those interviewed reported increases in meth-related
arrests in their counties over the past three years, packing jails in
California and elsewhere.

The report comes soon after the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy restated its stance that marijuana remains the nation's most
substantial drug problem. Federal estimates show there are 15 million
marijuana users compared with the 1 million that may use meth.

Many of the meth-lab homes are filthy, often strewn with drug paraphernalia
and pornography. Meth-making chemicals have been found in diaper bags and
toy chests.

Ingredients to make the drug, including the cold medicines, are often
readily available, and rural areas provide space for meth cooks to operate
undetected by neighbors or police.

Sonora's Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in Tuolumne or Calaveras counties,
decided to lock up its pseudoephedrine products two years ago - before it
may be required to do so by law.

As of last month, all Wal-Mart stores moved many nonprescription cold and
allergy medications behind pharmacy counters. In doing so, they joined
rivals Target and Albertson's in the effort.

Mary Lamendola, Wal-Mart's over-the-counter pharmacy manager, said a few
years ago more cold medicine products were being stolen in Sonora than
Wal-Mart stores in Central Valley cities historically considered hotbeds of
meth use - like Modesto and Merced.

"The theft was so outrageous," she said. "We'd come in and there'd be 40
boxes missing."

That's why pseudoephedrine belongs behind the counter, say many lawmakers
who support restricting the sales of cold medicines.

A dozen senators led by Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Jim Talent, R-Mo.,
want to require that nonprescription cold medicines that contain
pseudoephedrine be behind the counter.

Modeled after an Oklahoma law that took effect last year, their bill says
that medicines with pseudoephedrine must be dispensed by a licensed
pharmacist or pharmacy technician, and purchasers must show ID with their
date of birth and sign for the product.

Lawmen applaud the proposed legislation, but drug industry groups are
lining up against it. They argue it would create unacceptable barriers for
regular customers with a headache, fever or runny nose.

Supporters dispute those claims, contending consumers will be able to get
the medicine they need with little inconvenience. The legislation limits
buyers to nine grams in a 30-day period.

But recovering meth addict Kevin Tammarine says cooks will just get more
creative when making the drug.

"If there's a will, there's a way," the Calaveras County resident said.
"There's a million different recipes for meth."

More legislation

On the state level, Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, announced his
Meth-Free Communities legislative package in March. The three bills would
combat meth production before, during and after the chemical manufacturing
of the drug.

One bill would limit the sale of iodine - another meth ingredient - to
eight ounces and require retailers be licensed by the state Department of
Justice.

Another bill would make it a felony to possess more than a half-pound of
pseudoephedrine. That same bill would add an additional two-year prison
sentence if a fire results from the meth production, or an additional
five-year sentence if children are present when the drug is being made.

The third bill would make it a felony to dump meth chemicals on
agricultural land and help establish a program to clean-up meth in rural areas.

"It's not enough just to go after the meth that's already on the streets,"
Cogdill said. "We need to stop it from ever getting there in the first place."

Oklahoma officials say their behind-the-counter law has had dramatic
results, driving down meth lab busts more than 80 percent.

Aside from Wal-Mart, other Mother Lode drug and grocery stores - like Rite
Aid, Save Mart and Pak-N-Save - have begun locking up pseudoephedrine products.

Last year, Sonora's Wal-Mart stopped selling 100-pill pseudoephedrine
packs. It now only sells 24- and 48-pill packs. And a television camera
monitors customers in the cold medicine aisle.

Store employees contact each other if they think something is suspicious.
Lamendola said she can choose not to sell pseudoephedrine to a customer who
is deemed suspicious because of other products they're buying, like a
propane tank, kitty litter and baby formula - all of which can be used in
meth manufacturing.

"Most likely, they're setting up a meth kitchen," she said, quickly adding
that "it's a very fine line" between trying to prevent people from making
meth and accusing someone of doing so.

Meth evolution

Ron McFall, Calaveras County's first full-time narcotics officer who has
since retired as undersheriff, said large, sophisticated labs have been
supplanted by smaller ones where people cook for themselves, friends and
regular customers.

"It used to be more organized," he said. "There's some of that now, but
there's also more 'ma and pa'-type operations. You see a larger amount of
labs producing a smaller quantity."

Michael Heald of the Drug Enforcement Administration said the DEA has been
successful in breaking up big manufacturing labs, forcing much of the
large-scale production to other countries, such as Mexico and India.

Cops say the foothills' meth epidemic is mainly due to "mom and pop" or
"personal use" labs.

"These labs are not going to go away," Heald said, "until we stop the
ability of the bad guys from going to a Wal-Mart or Target and getting
their hands on this stuff."

"The past five years - its been the worst of the worst," said Lamendola,
who helped open Sonora's Wal-Mart 11 years ago. "Meth has just exploded in
Tuolumne County. Sometimes, when you drive up Big Hill you can smell the
cooking."

The National Association of Counties has not taken a position on the
regulation of cold medicines but supports increased funding for meth
research, enforcement, treatment and education.

The senators' legislation also authorizes grants for drug treatment,
combating meth and other programs. It says the government can make
exceptions for the pharmacist rule in areas where pharmacies are not easily
accessible.

Dr. Thomas Haspel, medical director and staff psychiatrist for Calaveras
County's Behavioral Health Services, said he also thinks doctors should
prescribe the drug.

This would allow for limits on how much one person could buy and the
ability to track purchases more easily.

"I don't know why it's been so slow in the making," said Haspel of the
proposed laws, noting, too, that there are numerous alternatives to
pseudoephedrine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.