GET TOUGH METH LAWS

Given the terrible social consequences of methamphetamine, Oklahoma U.S.
Reps. Tom Cole and Dan Boren have a case for federal legislation limiting
the sale of pseudoephedrine, from which meth is illegally manufactured.

Cole and Boren have proposed a law similar to the one Oklahoma enacted last
year restricting pseudoephedrine tablet sales. The chemical is present in
some decongestants, and Oklahoma law requires those medicines to be placed
behind pharmacy counters and buyers to show their ID upon purchase.

State law officers say the law appears to be working in Oklahoma, reducing
the number of seized clandestine meth labs from 1,068 in 2003 to 652 in
2004. But a local official near a state border say meth cooks have access
to unlimited purchases in Arkansas.

Because meth is a dangerous drug, with alarming consequences, federal
lawmakers should approve the proposed law. Users cannot function at their
jobs, dependency ruins home life, and the illegal production of the drug is
dangerous. Cleanup costs at places where meth has been produced and
disposal of the chemicals have cost many state millions. And now Oklahoma
officials fear the residues in meth homes - in carpeting, heating and
air-conditioning ducts, drapes - can be affecting those who live in them.

Oklahoma has a law that requires a seller to declare if a lab has been
confiscated at the home he or she is selling. However, Oklahoma does not
require a residue cleanup as other states, such as Colorado and Kansas,
require. Oklahoma says it has made a difference in curtailing meth
production and is setting an example for the whole nation.

Then it, too, should protect its citizens from poisoning by chemicals used
to produce meth.