BILL WOULD RESTRICT SALE OF MEDICINE USED IN METH

Kentucky could soon join Indiana and Oklahoma as states that have laws
restricting the sale of over-the-counter cold tablets used to make
methamphetamine.

Senate Bill 63 was approved by a Senate committee Monday and could go
before the full Senate in the next week, co-sponsor Sen. Tom Jensen said
Monday.

The bill would require drugs that contain pseudoephedrine to be dispensed
by pharmacists, who would have to keep records of such transactions. The
measure would also limit the amount of the drug the consumers could
purchase and impose stiffer penalties for meth crimes.

"The goal is to get rid of methamphetamine completely," said Jensen,
R-London. "This bill alone won't do that, but it could curtail people from
buying the ingredients."

Jensen said he has seen firsthand the damage the drug can cause.

"It is cheap, addictive and all the ingredients to make it are legal," he
said. "That is the worst combination you can have for a drug. It ruins
individuals and destroys families."

Northern Kentucky law enforcement officials and rehabilitation counselors
are among the bill's strongest supporters.

"We're seeing a lot more of not only meth but meth labs in more rural
counties like Grant and Boone," said Jim Liles, director of the Northern
Kentucky Drug Strike Force. "From what I've read, states that have passed
similar legislation have decreased their meth arrests by half."

Liles said in the past four years, Northern Kentucky law enforcement
officials have averaged uncovering about eight meth labs a year. "Prior to
that, I doubt if we had any," he said.

Meth has a very strong ammonia odor when it is produced, making rural
locations attractive to manufacturers of the drug.

"A lot of times, that's how we catch them, someone notices the smell and
calls us," said Liles. "We have also caught them because alert clerks at
stores have contacted us about large purchases of cold tablets."

Or, sometimes labs blow up. But even that threat is not enough to
discourage meth addicts, demonstrating why Jensen's bill is so important,
Liles said.

"This drug is so addictive that a lot of times they use it one time and
they're hooked. Then it's almost impossible to get off of, so they
manufacture it to keep themselves supplied."

Russ Radenhausen, director of substance abuse services at Northkey
Community Care, has seen a lot of those addicts in the last few years. One
function of Northkey is to act as a regional planning board for substance
abuse.

"Meth systematically destroys people," said Radenhausen. "It releases
dopamine, which stimulates brain cells and brings users great pleasure. At
the same time it damages the brain cells that contain dopamine, making more
meth necessary to get that good feeling."

Radenhausen said eventually users become dependent on meth just to
function, and become depressed, and even violent, when they don't have it.

"It becomes all-consuming and they become like a train running out of
control," he said.

"We have found labs in 89 of Kentucky's 120 counties," Jensen said. "We
have to do something now if we are going to stop it."