STATE TARGETS METH INGREDIENTS

Keeping a key ingredient out of the hands of methamphetamine cooks is one
signature away from becoming law after state lawmakers passed an anti-meth
bill Tuesday.

A bill that sailed through the House and Senate would limit the
availability of over-the-counter cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine
and other products containing ephedrine by restricting the amount consumers
can purchase at one time.

Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant that is commonly used in over-the-counter
cold medications. Ephedrine is a stimulant often used in weight-loss products.

The manufacture and sale of methamphetamine, a highly addictive and
destructive illegal drug, is a growing problem across the country.

Kentucky State Police officials say meth labs continue to flourish. Wayne
Edwards, director of the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force, said
18 meth labs were dismantled in its jurisdiction in 2004.

The bill that now goes before Gov. Ernie Fletcher would require that the
products be sold under the supervision of a pharmacist or pharmacy
technician and would move it behind a counter or into a locked case. It
currently can be purchased at many stores, such as dollar stores, grocery
stores, convenience stores and pharmacies.

Kentucky State Police narcotics Detective Curtis Mouser said buyers often
come into town and spend two or three hours going from store to store
buying the products.

"They either trade it, cook it themselves or sell it," Mouser said.

Edwards said several stores in the area already restrict the sale of the
products or will notify police when a customer buys a large quantity.

"We're having some preventative effect," Edwards said.

Local pharmacists would have to change the way they do business to comply
with the law.

"We already restrict the sale of pseudoephedrine products to only two
packages at a time," Walgreens pharmacist Keith Barns said. "If the law
passes, we would have to create shelf space in the pharmacy to move those
products to."

Medicine Shoppe pharmacist Larry Russell said the new law would be an
expense, "but it will be worth it if it protects our children," he said. "I
see it as a good thing if it helps to curb the production of meth."

The bill also would restrict purchases to 9 grams, or 300 30-milligram
pills, per month. Consumers would have to sign to receive the products.

Methamphetamine can be made from either anhydrous ammonia or red
phosphorous mixed with pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, which is extracted
from a legal product through chemical processes. Labs using the anhydrous
ammonia method are the most common to western Kentucky and specifically to
Hardin County, according to Kentucky State Police Detective Terry Moore.

KSP Trooper Steve Pavey said police are finding more labs using the
anhydrous ammonia method in rural areas such as southern Indiana and
Missouri because the product is common in fertilizers used by farmers.

The bill also creates a separate felony for the manufacture of meth in the
presence of children. Anhydrous ammonia mixed with pseudoephedrine or
ephedrine creates such a volatile combination that cleaning a lab can be
dangerous. For every pound of meth produced, Moore said, there are 7 pounds
of hazardous waste created, which is often disposed of in creeks or in the
woods. The long-term effect of meth labs on the environment is unclear,
Moore said.

"It's destroying our country," said Moore.

Fletcher is expected to approve or veto all bills currently before him
within the next two weeks.