CARSON EXPECTED TO TAKE STATE METH LAW TO CONGRESS

TULSA - U.S. Rep. Brad Carson is expected to announce Monday that he'll
file federal legislation banning store sales of cold medicines used to make
methamphetamine. Gov. Brad Henry signed similar state legislation in April,
making Oklahoma the only state where medicines containing pseudoephedrine
can only be sold in pharmacies to customers showing identification.

Pseudoephedrine is the active ingredient in methamphetamine, which
politicians and police say is a major problem in Oklahoma and other states.

Carson, an Oklahoma Democrat who's also running for the U.S. Senate, has
scheduled a press conference Monday in Oklahoma City to announce what his
office called "major meth legislation."

"Congressman Carson is very interested in taking a lot of the same positive
steps that the state Legislature has accomplished in combating meth abuse
to a national level," Carson's spokeswoman, Kendra Horn said Friday.

Horn would not elaborate and said Carson was still working on the legislation.

But District Attorney Rob Wallace in Poteau said earlier this week that
Carson will announce that he'll file a bill similar to the state's new law,
a bill that would remove common cold medicines from store counters across
the country.

Wallace told The Associated Press that district attorneys have been talking
to Carson about it and indicated it would be a significant help to law
enforcement. He said he and Carson have had positive conversations about
the state's new law, known as House Bill 2176.

"Carson is going to drop a bill in Washington that looks just like House
Bill 2176," Wallace said.

Wallace said the new state law will be great for law enforcement in the
center of the state, but won't work as well in border counties like his
LeFlore County.

"We're just going to get pseudoephedrine products coming across the
border," he said. "The better practice here is to cut it off at the source."

Earlier this year, Carson filed legislation to provide additional federal
funding to combat methamphetamine through law enforcement, education,
prevention and treatment. It would also provide funds to assist with
contaminated property cleanup.