METH CASES SINK

Recent Oklahoma restrictions in the methamphetamine war have pushed the
battle lines south of the Red River and contributed to a 70 percent drop in
meth lab busts in the Sooner State, authorities said.

Meth: Shattered lives

Sgt. Cindy Walker, a Wichita Falls, Texas, police spokeswoman, reported "a
dramatic increase" in traffic by Oklahomans buying pseudoephedrine tablets
in Texas stores. The epidemic, Walker said Monday, is a direct result of the
new Oklahoma law that makes it harder to purchase pseudoephedrine -
contained in popular allergy medications and a key ingredient for cooking
meth.

Oklahomans have been required since April 6 to show photo identification and
sign for each purchase of pseudoephedrine at a pharmacy, thus leaving a
paper trail.

Under Texas law, a person can be charged with a second-degree felony for
possessing key ingredients for meth with the intent to sell. The crime
carries a penalty of between two and 20 years if convicted, but meth
manufacturers still can purchase the pills at virtually any convenience
store.

Moving south

"We're seeing a lot of Oklahoma tags in these meth cases," Walker said. "A
lot of people from Oklahoma are coming down here to buy those pills."

Walker called the problem serious, but said, "Maybe we have to shut down the
(Red River) bridge, or increase our border patrols."

Rick Mahler, Wichita County assistant district attorney, said the meth
problem is increasing so rapidly that his boss, Barry Macha, plans to ask
state legislators to pass a law that mirrors Oklahoma's.

The Texas Legislature doesn't convene again until Jan. 11, 2005, though, so
Mahler hopes a smaller measure can be taken locally.

"We're trying to get the Wichita Falls City Council to pass an ordinance
that would require pseudoephedrine to be sold at pharmacies," he said. "That
way, we can track who's buying what, instead of anyone being able to buy
these pills at any mom-and-pop store."

In May, an Enid man was arrested by an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper,
accused of possessing 1,100 pseudoephedrine and ephedrine tablets on a trip
back from Kansas. Terry Manning Gable, 23, was indicted in federal court
last week, and could face up to 40 years in prison, if convicted.

But not everyone is convinced there is a "dramatic" migration of meth
manufacturers crossing into northern Texas - or anywhere else, for that
matter.

"We had a case recently in Carter County where a meth lab bust was traced
back to the purchase of pills at a convenience store in north Texas," said
Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous
Drugs Control.

"But I don't know if that would define the situation as dramatic. Our drug
task force agents who patrol all along the state line have not seen a
dramatic increase in meth traffic."

Woodward, however, is convinced the new law is having a profound effect
across Oklahoma. In March, his agency reported the confiscation of 100 meth
labs statewide. That number has since dropped to 62 labs in April and 29
labs in May.

"That's a drop of 71 meth labs," Woodward said. "I'd say that's pretty
dramatic."