METH BILL WOULD LIMIT SALE OF COLD PILLS

(AP) The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee moved to further
restrict the purchase of certain over-the-counter cold medicines that
contain ingredients necessary for the production of methamphetamine.

Under the bill advanced, customers could only purchase up to three packages
of medicines like Sudafed a month without a prescription. The proposal also
reduces the number of controlled cold medicines from about 250 to less than
a dozen by targeting medicines that contain pseudoephedrine and other
ingredients.

"It takes a tremendous amount of this stuff to make meth," said Sen. Roman
Prezioso, D-Marion, the committee's chairman, on Tuesday. "This bill
prevents the cooker from acquiring mass quantities."

The yield of methamphetamine is about equal to the amount of
pseudoephedrine used in the manufacturing process, according to law
enforcement officials.

Gov. Joe Manchin's original proposal would have allowed customers to
purchase up to 9 grams of the targeted chemicals. At a dosage of 30
milligrams per tablet, a person would be able to purchase 15 20-pill
packages of medicine.

Fewer medicines are being moved behind pharmacy counters because cold
remedies containing several active ingredients are more difficult to cook
down into methamphetamine, said State Police Lt. Mike Goff.

"We're happy with this provision because the bill would allow us to add
medicines to the list if we find they are being made into methamphetamine,"
he said.

The committee's proposal would make possession of more than three packages
a "presumption of intent to manufacture" the narcotic, meaning defendants
would have to present evidence that they did not intend to make
methamphetamine.

Similar to laws regarding gunshot wounds, the bill would require that
medical professionals report to law enforcement officials any treated
injuries they suspect to be related to manufacturing the drug. The new bill
also includes language equating production of the drug near children as
evidence of child abuse.

The bill now heads for the Senate Judiciary Committee. A similar bill has
been introduced in the House.