METH CONTROL

Restrictions On Cold Medicine Will Disrupt Spread Of Dangerous Drug

The next time you get a stuffy nose, you may discover that your favorite
over-the-counter remedy is now behind the counter.

In an effort to disrupt the spread of methamphetamine labs, Florida
lawmakers recently passed restrictions on the sale of allergy and cold
medicines containing a common decongestant called pseudoephedrine. The
measure, which Gov. Jeb Bush says he'll sign into law, will require stores
to place pseudoephedrine products behind the counter and limit sales to a
few packages at a time.

The goal is to make life more difficult for people who mix chemicals in
makeshift labs to create methamphetamine, an illegal and highly addictive
stimulant. Pseudoephedrine is a key ingredient in "meth," also known as
crystal, crank, ice and speed, among other names.

Florida's legislation is part of a growing national campaign to shut down
meth labs, which not only produce a dangerous drug but also pose serious
public safety and environmental risks. Explosions and fires are common at
the labs, and the victims are often innocent bystanders. In 2003, accidents
at meth labs in the United States injured or burned 48 children and killed
one, according the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Police have found labs in houses, mobile homes, motel rooms and even
vehicles traveling on the highway. DEA officials say more than 9,100 labs
were raided in the United States last year. Florida has seen the number of
lab seizures mushroom from 28 in 2001 to approximately 330 last year,
according to Gov. Bush.

With the new law, Florida will become one of a dozen states that restrict
access to pseudoephedrine. In other states, many of the nation's major
retailers, including Target and Wal-Mart, are voluntarily putting the
products behind the counter.

"This problem is so severe in many parts of the country that our retailers
are making sacrifices to help law enforcement in their efforts," Mary Ann
Wagner, an official with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores,
recently told The Washington Post.

The restrictions imposed by individual states and retailers are
commendable, but a broader, uniform initiative is needed to ensure that
meth makers don't zero in on areas where restrictions aren't tight.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. James M. Talent, R-Mo., have
introduced a bill in Congress modeled on an Oklahoma law that's credited
with a 50 percent reduction in small meth operations there. The Oklahoma
measure requires buyers of pseudoephedrine products to show indentification
and sign logs that would enable law enforcement officials to track people
going from store to store to accumulate large volumes of pills.

Restricting access to cold and allergy medicines may sound extreme, even
silly. But the inconvenience to consumers is small, and it could make a
major difference in the battle against a dangerous drug.