PANEL HEARS STATE'S METH SUCCESS STORY

WASHINGTON - Oklahoma has seen a dramatic drop in the number of
methamphetamine labs siezed since the state passed a law regulating
the sale of over-the-counter cold remedies used to make the drug, the
head of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs told a
House subcommitee Thursday.

"We're real excited about our results," Lonnie Wright told the
government reform panel that has been having hearings across the
country looking for ways to combat drugs.

But some groups voiced skepticism about the Oklahoma law's success,
and a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official said he wanted to
wait a year to see whether the Oklahoma statistics stabilize. A Kansas
sheriff testified that he doubted the Oklahoma law would have much
effect in the long term, though he acknowledged he has heard
Oklahomans are crossing the border to buy a key ingredient since the
law took effect.

The Oklahoma law, which went into effect in April, requires that
over-the-counter drugs containing pseudoephedrine -- commonly used to
fight nasal congestion -- be obtained in a pharmacy. Though no
prescription is required, a person can only purchase 9 grams per month
and must show photo identification and sign a log book. The law
affected about 100 different products containing the drug.

Methamphetamine producers use medicines containing pseudoephedrine and
other ingredients that are easily obtained to manufacture, through
cooking, a "crystal" that is then smoked.

Wright told the Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice,
Drug Policy and Human Resources that the Oklahoma law has been
effective because most Oklahomans who make methamphetamine do so
mostly for their own use. Wright said so-called "superlabs" haven't
been prevalent in Oklahoma since the 1980s.

"All we see are addict-operated labs," he said.

Because the small labs don't need large quantities of pseudoephedrine,
the state has been able to reduce lab activity by limiting access to
cold medicines, Wright said.

According to statistics distributed at the hearing, Oklahoma is
averaging 65 lab seizures a month since April, compared with an
average of 103 a month in 2003.

A model considered for states, nation Rep. Mark Souder, R-Indiana, the
chairman of the subcommittee, said the Oklahoma law comes up "almost
everywhere" the panel travels to investigate the methamphetamine
problem. Souder said several other states are planning to follow
Oklahoma's lead.

Joseph T. Rannazzisi, deputy chief of the DEA's office of enforcement
operations, said, "What I'd like to do is look at the (statistics)
after a year to determine how much impact the Oklahoma law has had."

But Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Maryland, said, "I can't believe we
have to sit and wait while all this destruction is taking place."

Local law enforcement officials who testified Thursday differed about
the Oklahoma law.

Lt. George E. Colby from the Allen County Drug Task Force in Fort
Wayne, Ind., said narcotics officers in his state are supporting
legislation to require photo identification and a signature to buy
over-the-counter products with ephedrine and pseudoephedrine and that
"something can be learned" from the reductions in Oklahoma.

But Sheriff Steve Bundy, of Rice County, Kan., said he wasn't sure it
would work.

"My experience is that it is hard to regulate addiction," he said.