LAW TO LIMIT CERTAIN DRUG SALES FAILS

Legislature refuses to restrict medicines used to make meth

CHATTANOOGA - Tennessee lawmakers refused to restrict sales of some
over-the-counter medicines used to make methamphetamine even though
retailers said Tuesday they had agreed to a statewide limit.

Rep. Frank Buck, D-Dowelltown, House sponsor of a bill that would limit
sales of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine - medicines
contained in many cold remedies - said the "merchants just killed it."

Russell Palk, president of the Tennessee Council of Retail Merchants,
disagreed. He said the Senate sponsor, Sen. Charlotte Burks, D-Monterey,
insisted local governments also be allowed to set their own more restrictive
limits.

"If you allow local ordinances to supersede state law, you could have over
100 different ordinances we would have to deal with on a statewide basis,"
Palk said. "We'd rather have one coherent state law that we can operate
under."

Burks could not be reached by telephone for comment.

The bill could be considered next year. It proposes misdemeanor penalties
for selling - in one transaction - more than three packages of one or more
of the medicines, or more than three grams.

Palk said Burks wanted to allow the Cookeville City Council to consider a
more restrictive ordinance.

Cookeville City Council member Ricky Shelton said the ordinance would be on
the agenda Thursday for possible final approval. He said it would require
that Sudafed and Sudafedrin - two products containing the medicines - be
kept behind the counter or nearby, with any transaction limited to 100
tablets or 3 grams. He said signatures would also be required for purchase.

Shelton said he would prefer a state law with a tougher penalty than a $50
fine but the legislation "only deals with numbers of boxes."

Shelton said the ordinance is modeled partly after a measure approved by
Missouri lawmakers. That legislation is awaiting the governor's signature.

"It's more of a problem in the rural areas than the bigger cities," Shelton
said. He said meth is "causing children to be homeless and die."

Law officers and child protection workers contend unrestricted sales are
contributing to an epidemic of meth abuse in Tennessee.

Records show that since January 2002, the agency has removed hundreds of
children from parents who exposed them to the addictive stimulant.

Carla Aaron, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Children's
Services, said the "horrific drug is tearing families apart and placing
children at risk and in grave danger." She said the agency favors any
legislation that helps protect children.

Buck said he was doubtful the bill would pass next year.

"I don't have a lot of confidence that we will be able to move it," he said.

Tennessee lawmakers approved and sent to Gov. Phil Bredesen a measure that
increases penalties for anyone caught making meth on government-owned land,
such as a park or in public housing.

The House sponsor, Rep. Judd Metheny, R-Tullahoma, said he intends to write
a comprehensive meth bill to be considered next year.

"When meth is being cooked it is just as deadly as any bomb ... people being
killed and burned out," he said.