WHAT'S THE ANSWER TO THE METH CRISIS?

Everyone knows how easy it is to make methamphetamine. Making the illegal
drug has become a favorite pastime, or even full-time work, for apparently
hundreds, if not thousands, of West Virginians.

The outbreak of illegal meth production (There is no legal meth production)
hasn't escaped the attention of the West Virginia Legislature.

It's considering a bill that would put one of the basic ingredients for
making meth off the shelves of pharmacies and other businesses in the state
and put pseudoephedrine behind the counter. To get it, you'd have to
provide ID and sign for it.

It might make the legislators feel better to enact such legislation, but it
would probably do absolutely nothing to eliminate meth making or even slow
it down.

Would you believe that those who want to make the illegal drug don't even
need to leave their homes? Everything they need, including a book that
contains the recipe and specific instruction on how to make the drug, is
available on the Internet.

Lest you think I'm giving way secrets here, I'm not. Authorities tell me
those who want to make crystal meth know everything I am about to disclose
and much more.

Meth is the new "bathtub gin" that thousands made during prohibition,
except that it's much more deadly, both to make and to use. Making it and
getting the ingredients is a snap.

If you don't want to spend money on a recipe book, there's a free recipe
for making the drug available on the Internet. It lists three major
ingredients. It took me less than 20 minutes to find sources of all three
ingredients from mail order sources on the Internet.

One of the sources for one of the chemicals is in Great Britain, but the
company promises "quick and discreet delivery" anywhere in the world.

One dealer who sells a prime ingredient on the Internet says that to
prevent abuse, the dealer will ship only two packages of it per day per
customer.

Two packages per day per customer? What kind of abuse preventive is that?

The awful truth is that meth is subject to the old law of supply and demand
just like every other drug. As long as there are addicts to demand it,
there will be suppliers who make it.

The problem is that, unlike other illegal drugs, this one involves extreme
danger in its production.

Marijuana is not known to spontaneously combust and burn houses down.
Cocaine and crack cocaine don't explode without warning and endanger entire
neighborhoods with the threat of fire.

What's the answer to the meth crisis?

There isn't one as long as we urge our authorities to run helter-skelter
looking for illegal meth labs, and as long as we believe we can eliminate
labs by restricting the sale of over-the-counter pills at the local drug store.

Until we as a society face the fact that we are in the throes of an illegal
drug use crisis, we'll continue to do things that make us feel good but do
nothing to eliminate the problem.

In fact, the farther we go down the road we have chosen, the worse it is
likely to become.