BLUNT PROPOSES METH PLAN

Blunt Proposes Meth Plan Pseudoephedrine Would Be Harder To Get

JEFFERSON CITY - Cold sufferers could face new obstacles to
buying medicine such as Sudafed under a plan outlined yesterday by
Gov. Matt Blunt to crack down on the manufacture of the illegal drug
methamphetamine. The proposal would make Missouri's anti-meth
laws among the toughest in the nation.

The state has led the nation in meth lab seizures for the past few
years. "We've got to take drastic action. Methamphetamine is a crisis
in our state," Blunt said in an interview after announcing his plan in
Springfield. Blunt's plan is modeled on a new Oklahoma law. It would
require medicines containing pseudoephedrine - a key ingredient in
methamphetamine - to be kept behind a pharmacy counter and sold only
by a pharmacist or pharmaceutical technician.

That means convenience and grocery stores without pharmacies could no
longer sell the medicine. And retailers with pharmacies could sell
pseudoephedrine medicines only during the hours their pharmacies are
open. Blunt's proposal also would require buyers to show photo
identification and sign a log, which could be inspected by law
enforcement officers. Shoppers would be limited to 9 grams - typically
about three packages. The restrictions also would apply to medicines
with ephedrine as part of their ingredients.

In the 10 months since Oklahoma began enforcing its similar law, meth
lab seizures have dropped more than 80 percent.

Other states, including Kansas, also are considering proposals modeled
after Oklahoma's.

Missouri has led the nation in meth lab seizures each year since 2001.
In 2003, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported 2,860 meth lab
seizures. Final figures aren't available yet for 2004, but halfway
through the year, the state was on a similar pace.

Two years ago, Missouri enacted an anti-meth law requiring medicines
with pseudoephedrine as the sole active ingredient to be kept behind a
store counter, within 10 feet of a cashier, or to be tagged with
electronic anti-theft devices.

But the restrictions did not seem to make a noticeable dent in the
meth trade. "Lives have been lost or completely altered, and the state
has been unable to effectively combat this menace to our society,"
Blunt said in a statement announcing his plan.

Some Missouri retailers are skeptical of the latest proposal.
"Fundamentally, it's going to impact law-abiding citizens much more
than criminals, who are going to figure out a way to get around it,"
said Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers
and Convenience Store Association, whose members likely would be shut
out from selling pseudoephedrine products.

Blunt said his proposal targets powder caplets that typically are
ground up by methamphetamine makers, not gel caps or children's liquid
medicines containing pseudoephedrine.

Still, retailers expressed concern about whether the restrictions
would apply to the numerous popular combinations of cold, cough and
fever medications that include pseudoephedrine as one of several
active ingredients.

For stores with pharmacies, the sales restrictions and additional
paperwork might lead them to drop some products, said David Overfelt,
president of the Missouri Retailers Association.

"This is a product category killer," Overfelt said. "We're talking
about taking 100-plus products and moving them behind the pharmacy
counter. You don't have the space for it, so you have to pick and
choose what you put behind the counter."

The Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee is
scheduled to hold a hearing Monday night on several methamphetamine
bills, including one by Sen. John Cauthorn, R-Mexico, that is similar
to Blunt's proposal and the Oklahoma law.

Under Cauthorn's bill, businesses breaking the new requirements could
be fined between $500 and $2,000 for each violation.

Blunt said the methamphetamine restrictions have bipartisan support.
Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon also has pushed for a law
modeling Oklahoma's. And House Democrats planned to announce their
support for a methamphetamine measure Monday.