ATTACKING THE INGREDIENTS

Iowa drug fighters determined to keep vital ingredients out of the hands of
meth-makers have turned to scientists and politicians for help, yielding a
mixture of success and frustration.

Iowa State University researchers discovered an anhydrous additive that
makes the fertilizer virtually useless in meth manufacturing while it
remains useful to grain farmers.

However, regulatory hurdles remain before the additive enters the market.

The Legislature approved a bill early in 2004 requiring retailers to put
roughly a dozen products that contain pseudoephedrine as their sole active
ingredient -- including an array of cold remedies -- behind the counter.
Purchases are limited to two boxes.

But Marvin Van Haaften, a former county sheriff who directs the state's
Office of Drug Control Policy, and others wanted a much tougher law
limiting access to scores of other products that also contain
pseudoephedrine among multiple active ingredients.

Retailers and drug company interests resisted tougher legislation and
prevailed.

About one-third of the meth cooked in Iowa is made using multi-ingredient
pseudoephedrine products and Van Haaften doesn't believe the new law will
hamper meth makers.

Van Haaften says putting a legal lid on access to precursor ingredients is
critical.

Officials believe thwarting cookers' ability to score key ingredients could
undercut the cottage meth industry and allow investigators to focus more
time on interstate drug interdiction efforts, the source of as much as 80
percent of Iowa's meth.

"We're spending a very disproportionate amount of time on labs versus the
major drug traffickers," said Ken Carter, director of the state narcotics
enforcement division. "I'm not saying (labs) shouldn't be responded to. But
how do you send an agent out that's dealing with pounds of meth to take
care of a lab that might be producing ounces?"

Van Haaften asked lawmakers to make pseudoephedrine a Schedule V controlled
substance, so anyone buying a product containing the drug would have to
show photo identification and sign for it.