ANTI-METH PLAN MAY LEAVE YOU CONGESTED

RALEIGH - Common cold medicines might move behind the counter in N.C.
stores as part of Attorney General Roy Cooper's push to shut down
methamphetamine labs.

Cooper said Monday he will ask lawmakers to regulate the sale of
pseudoephedrine -- a key ingredient in meth that's found in nasal
decongestants, such as Sudafed.

The attorney general's stance could put him at odds with grocery and
convenience store owners and other retailers for the first time in his
yearlong push to control meth's spread.

In an interview, Cooper said he hasn't sketched out exactly what
restrictions he wants. But he's looked to an Oklahoma law passed last year.
Prosecutors there say the law has cut meth lab busts by 81 percent.

Since Oklahoma's law passed last March, pseudoephedrine can only be sold in
drugstores. The drugs are kept behind the counter, and buyers have to sign
for them. Oklahoma also limits the amount customers can purchase each month.

"I'd like to see as strict a limit as we can get, Cooper said. "We're in
the infancy of this problem" in North Carolina, he said, adding he wants to
stop the problem before it grows.

Retailers are trying to figure out how to respond. So far, the state and
shop owners have worked together. State agents have trained salespeople to
report anyone buying large quantities of pseudoephedrine and other meth
ingredients, such as charcoal lighter fluid, gasoline, kerosene and paint
thinner.

At least some locations of stores, including Wal-Mart and Lowes Foods, have
voluntarily restricted access to the drug or put it in conspicuous places
where employees can see if anyone is stealing boxes, local sheriffs say.

Fran Preston, president of the N.C. Retail Merchants Association, said
she's worked so well with Cooper that the attorney general's staff gave her
a heads-up that he was going to push for the new restrictions.

But she questioned whether the restrictions would help, noting there's a
black market for the drug.

"You can get all you want on (the online auction site) eBay," Preston said.

She said she's seeking guidance from her group's national organization to
figure out if she can support limited restrictions.

Cooper said he needs the new law to stem the rapid growth of meth labs.

N.C. police, sheriffs, troopers and state investigators made nine meth lab
busts in 1999, largely concentrated in the mountains. That number reached
322 last year statewide.

Cooper is also pushing to hire 13 more state agents to fight the drug.

Law enforcement officers and prosecutors worry both about the effects of
the drug and the people who make it. Labs have been found in cars,
apartments and hotel rooms. They emit noxious fumes and can explode,
endangering whole neighborhoods, police say.

Cooper led the charge last year for a new law that guarantees meth lab
operators will face active prison time on their first offense. The law went
into effect Dec. 1, and it's too early to know how well it's working,
Cooper said. Offenders get a longer sentence if the lab is in a dwelling or
vehicle occupied by children.

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said merchants in his state fought
their sales restrictions. But he deemed the law a roaring success. Meth lab
busts dropped from 121 in January 2004 to 20 in December, he said, and he
doesn't attribute the drop to other legal changes.

"At the time, I thought it was a good idea, but I had no idea how
beneficial the impact would be," Edmondson said.

Oklahoma consumers can still buy plenty of Sudafed to deal with a family of
colds, their attorney general said. Oklahomans are allowed to buy 9 grams a
month -- about four boxes, enough for about 80 of Sudafed's 12-hour caplets.

Cooper said he believes he can work out an acceptable compromise with
pseudoephedrine sellers.

"We bust a lot of meth labs across the state because clerks and retail
owners have called us," Cooper said. "I hope they'll work with us. I
believe that they will."

Drugstore Shuffle on the Way?

The Problem

Meth-lab busts are up, and authorities in North Carolina say the labs
endanger neighborhoods, as they can catch fire or explode.

The Plan

A cold-medicine ingredient is also used in "cooking" meth. Model
legislation from Oklahoma requires buyers to ask for medicine containing
pseudoephedrine, instead of buying it off unrestricted shelves, and to sign
for it when they get it. Purchase quantities are restricted.