SENATE REJECTS PART OF METH LEGISLATION

State senators considering new laws aimed at methamphetamine dealers
rejected a proposal Tuesday further limiting the amount of certain cold and
allergy medicines that can be bought in a single purchase.

The proposal would have allowed the sale in any single transaction of just
two packages or six grams of over-the-counter medicines in which
pseudoephedrine -- commonly marketed as a decongestant -- is the sole
active ingredient.

Missouri law currently sets a three-package limit, which the House had
lowered to two packages in the bill taken up Tuesday in the Senate. But
senators defeated the tighter restriction on a 17-14 vote before approving
the overall bill and returning it to the House.

Pseudoephedrine is used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine, the
highly addictive stimulant that law officers label a large problem in
Midwest, Southwest and West.

The legislation also contains provisions aimed at deterring theft of
medicines in which pseudoephedrine is the sole active ingredient.

Under the Senate version, retailers would have to keep such medicines
either behind a counter or within 15 of a checkout counter, clearly visible
by the merchant.

The House-passed version mandates that the medicines be kept either behind
the counter or within 6 feet of a cashier, or be outfitted with an
electronic anti-theft tag. The House bill also would have limited each
customer to two packages of pseudoephedrine medicines.

The proposed restrictions had been described as the toughest in the nation
by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents
manufacturers and distributors of over-the-counter medicines.

Sen. Ken Jacob offered the amendment deleting the two-package restriction,
arguing the limit would effectively make criminals out of some sick people.
Jacob said he often buys several packages of cold medicine at one time when
he is ailing.

"We are trying to punish the business person and we are making it
inconvenient on the consumer," said Jacob, D-Columbia. "This has gone way
too far. There's got to be a better strategy to stop methamphetamine
production."

Sen. Matt Bartle, who handled the bill in the Senate, said tougher laws
were needed to control the illegal methamphetamine trade. Last year, a
nation-high 2,725 clandestine meth labs were seized in Missouri -- nearly
20 percent of the labs found across the country.

"We have a major methamphetamine problem in this state and we have a major
problem with derivatives of methamphetamine that are sold over the counter
in this state," said Bartle, R-Lee's Summit.

"We're trying to strike a balance here.".