KEEP MEDICINES FROM METH MAKERS, KANSAS LAWMAKERS URGED

TOPEKA -- Kansas needs to do more to keep some cold medications out of the
hands of illegal manufacturers of methamphetamine, law enforcement
officials told lawmakers Wednesday.

They urged legislators to adopt an Oklahoma law that keeps the medications
behind the pharmacy counter instead of on drugstore shelves, making it more
difficult for methamphetamine manufacturers to obtain them.

Missouri lawmakers are considering a similar measure.

"We have done everything," Larry Welch, director of the Kansas Bureau of
Investigation, told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "We have tried
everything. The one thing Oklahoma has that we don't is Senate Bill 27."

Over-the-counter tablets such as Sudafed contain pseudoephedrine, a
decongestant and the key ingredient in making meth, an illegal and highly
addictive drug.

"It's what wheat is to bread," said Kyle Smith, a spokesman for the KBI.

The measure would not apply to gel caps or liquid medications.

Kansas has made strides in recent years fighting the growing number of meth
labs, Welch said. He said the illegal labs began appearing in 1994 and
escalated to 846 in 2001. Last year, he said, officers discovered and shut
down about 550 such operations.

Although the number of illegal labs has been dropping, Welch said, the
problem is still significant.

After the Oklahoma law took effect last year, Smith said, police in that
state saw an 80 percent reduction in the number of meth labs.

In written testimony, Officer Ed Drake of the Olathe Police Department said
meth labs were a major problem in the Kansas City area. Busting a meth lab,
he said, is a time-consuming process that requires special training,
breathing equipment and protective clothing.

If Kansas could significantly reduce the number of illegal labs, Welch
said, officers could spend more time trying to stop the importation of meth
and other illegal drugs. He estimated that 80 percent of Kansas meth is
imported from Mexico or California.

The Senate panel is considering a measure that would require any
over-the-counter cold remedy containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine to be
kept behind the pharmacy counter and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist, a
pharmacist technician or a clerk supervised by a pharmacist or a
technician. Buyers would be required to show a photo identification and
sign a log showing the date and quantity of the purchase.

The Kansas attorney general's office and the Kansas Pharmacists Association
asked the committee to drop a section of the bill that would limit a
customer to no more than 9 grams -- or about three boxes -- of these
products every 30 days.

Missouri and Oklahoma already limit the quantity a customer can purchase.

Association officials said that change would make the administration of the
law more workable for pharmacists.

Kevin Kraushaar, representing the Consumer Healthcare Products Association
in Washington D.C., urged lawmakers to allow stores without pharmacies to
continue to sell the products.

Sen. John Vratil, a Leawood Republican who is the committee chairman, said
his committee would debate the measure Monday and consider changes then.

- - The bill that would limit the sale of products containing pseudoephedrine
is SB 27. A full text of is available at
http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-legisportal/index.do.