PLAN SEEKS RETAILER HELP IN METH FIGHT

RALEIGH (AP) - Attorney General Roy Cooper's statewide campaign to fight
the spread of methamphetamine labs could change the way North Carolinians
shop for cold medicine.

North Carolina is moving to join a growing number of states cracking down
on methamphetamine dealers by limiting sales of cold tablets, putting them
behind counters, or training store clerks to spot suspicious shoppers.

Drug dealers buy over-the-counter cold remedies, nasal decongestants and
asthma medicines for their active ingredients, ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine. A 48-tablet pack of Sudafed yields methamphetamine worth
about $72 on the street, according to police.

In North Carolina, some drug and grocery stores voluntarily limit purchases
to three packs in keeping with guidelines from the Drug Enforcement
Administration. But other stores don't, prompting Mr. Cooper to organize a
statewide initiative.

Details aren't expected until spring, but the plan would be modeled on the
federally funded Meth Watch in Kansas, said Fran Preston, president of the
N.C. Retail Merchants Association and a member of the committee organizing
the plan and seeking funding.