NEW LAW TARGETS METH

Small Stores Can't Sell Cold Tablets; Pharmacies Given Strict Guidelines

# Fighting meth: Gov. Phil Bredesen hopes to curtail meth labs by
restricting the sale of cold medicines used to cook the drug. # What's
next: The law goes into effect almost immediately, putting
pseudoephe-drine-based medicine behind pharmacy counters, where it will
only be sold in limited amounts to people who show an ID.

# What else: Some money will be spent to raise awareness of meth's lethal
nature, and criminal sentences will be increased.

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen signed a law Wednesday aimed at
fighting the state's soaring methamphetamine problem, and it starts by
giving small stores 24 hours to stop selling cold tablets used to make the
drug.

"I hope this collective action sends a clear signal to the people of
Tennessee that we are serious about tackling this problem," Bredesen said
as he signed the measure that raced through the Legislature a little more
than a month after he proposed it.

The biggest change will be restrictions placed on some cold medicines that
contain pseudoephedrine. They have to be sold, in limited amounts, from
behind a pharmacy counter with a record of each purchase.

Small stores that don't have pharmacies won't be allowed to sell the
medicines that contain pseudoephedrine, a major component in making meth,
at all.

"This new law strikes the right balance between public safety and consumer
convenience," Bredesen said. "We appreciate pharmacies' and retailers'
support and cooperation in the war against meth."

The drug is "cooked" using the cold medicine and easily obtainable items
such as lye, matchbook striker plates and iodine. Tennessee has become a
hotbed for meth production, with 1,200 clandestine meth labs broken up by
federal agents in the state between October 2003 and August 2004. Also, 750
children were removed from the custody of meth abusers in the state last year.

"We have all realized what an epidemic this is in the great state of
Tennessee," House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh said at the bill signing. "When 75
percent of meth labs in the Southeast are in the state of Tennessee, we
know something is wrong."

Bredesen praised lawmakers for sending the measure through the Legislature
in "record time." It was endorsed unanimously in both the House and the
Senate, with nearly everyone signing on as a co-sponsor.

"The speed with which the General Assembly considered and approved this
bill is a testament to the scope of the problem, which is enormous here in
our state," he said.

Much of the measure goes into effect immediately.

Pharmacies have 30 days to move the restricted cold medicines behind the
counter, excluding liquid or gel cap medicines because they can't be used
to make meth.

Oklahoma, which last year enacted similar restrictions on the sale of cold
medicines, has seen meth lab seizures drop 80 percent.

Tennessee's measure will also close the "personal-use loophole" that hands
out lighter criminal penalties to those who claim they made the illegal
stimulant for personal use. It also requires doctors and nurses to report
meth lab injuries, such as chemical burns, to police.

Properties that are quarantined after being contaminated by meth labs will
be cataloged and recorded by the state. And convicted meth cooks will be
listed on another registry kept by state authorities.

In all, the governor has proposed spending $7 million on the meth problem,
including in his budget $2.4 million to pay for more jail time for meth
makers, $1.7 million for a drug court pilot project, $1.5 million for a
public awareness campaign and $600,000 to help police train for dealing
with meth labs.