HENRY SAYS KEEP BILL ON FAST TRACK

Gov. Brad Henry called on lawmakers Wednesday to pass within two weeks a
bill banning over-the-counter sales of cold tablets containing
pseudoephedrine. Pseudoephedrine - found in popular cold and allergy
medicines such as Sudafed - is a key ingredient for making illegal
methamphetamine.

House Bill 2176 would make such medicine a regulated substance that can
only be sold by pharmacists.

Consumers would have to show a photo identification and sign for the drug
and would be limited to buying and possessing nine grams, or about 10 boxes.

Oklahoma would be the first state to impose such a restriction.

The bill faces final votes in the Senate and House before it can be sent to
the governor.

"This is a true opportunity for us to protect our law enforcement officers,
our children and our citizens from this dangerous and highly addictive
drug," Henry said at a news conference.

"For years we have legislated around the edges of this problem," he said.
"But House Bill 2176 has the potential to make a significant dent in the
number of illegal meth labs in our state."

The legislation is named for three Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers whose
deaths were directly linked to methamphetamine use.

One was Nik Green, an OHP officer shot and killed when he was investigating
a mobile meth lab in Cotton County last December.

The man charged in Green's death is a former firefighter and paramedic who
was out on bond at the time of the killing, Henry noted.

"We can't allow this kind of tragedy to happen again," Henry said.

Gary Adams, chief of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said troopers are
becoming increasingly at risk on county roads, where methmakers set up shop
in their vehicles after purchasing products to make meth from nearby stores.

Henry referred to a section in the bill that will allow judges to deny bail
and possibly require meth suspects to pay for treatment before disposition
of their cases.

"That will save lives," the governor said.

He said conceivably the bill could be sent to his desk in the next week,
but passage within two weeks "seems reasonable."

He said he is concerned that opponents, such as pharmaceutical interests,
will mount a behind-the-scenes effort to derail the bill.

"We just want to make sure we don't run into problems," Henry said.