HOUSE PASSES RESTRICTIONS ON BUYING METH INGREDIENT

Retailers would have to keep a common decongestant that is used to make
methamphetamine behind a counter or near a cashier, under a bill given
initial Missouri House approval Tuesday.

The legislation, advanced to final House action on a voice vote, would also
lower the amount of the drug that customers could buy in a single
transaction.

The measure is intended to deter thefts and bulk purchases of
over-the-counter medications in which pseudoephedrine or ephedrine is the
sole active ingredient.

Commonly sold as the brand-name drug Sudafed or a house-brand equivalent,
pseudoephedrine is a decongestant but also a key ingredient in
methamphetamine, the highly addictive stimulant made in clandestine labs.
Missouri is a leading meth producer.

Under the bill, stores would have to keep the drug behind a counter or with
6 feet of a cashier with an unobstructed view. The legal maximum purchase in
a single transaction, currently three packages, would be lowered to two
packages or 6 grams of the drug.

Stores that use anti-theft product tags and detection alarms would be
exempt, and local regulations would be canceled if they were stronger than
state law.

Rep. Rob Mayer, who sponsored the bill, said it would not affect medications
containing other active ingredients, such as a pain reliever or
antihistamine, along with the decongestant.

"Our research has shown that the meth cookers don't use those kind of
products," said Mayer, R-Dexter. Using an ephedrine that is combined with
another drug leads to impurities in methamphetamine, he said.

Rep. Terry Witte, D-Vandalia, complained that the bill affects common drugs.
He said some people who live in rural areas where pharmacies are not easily
accessible like to buy more than two packages at a time.

But supporters said the state must do more to curb meth production.

Missouri led the nation last year with 2,725 meth raids and seizures, a 28
percent increase over 2001, according to state and federal authorities. More
than one out of every six meth labs discovered nationwide was located in
Missouri.

Some House members noted that partisan support for Mayer's bill defied
tradition. Most Democrats who spoke opposed the bill as usurping local
control. Republicans argued that breaking with local control was necessary
because methamphetamine is a statewide problem.

"I'm really surprised it's coming from the other side of the aisle," said
Rep. Patricia Yaeger, D-St. Louis. "Maybe something needs to be done. But
I'm getting very nervous. ... We say we want government to be less involved
in people's lives and yet we're doing this?"

Yaeger said requiring the drug to be kept within 6 feet of a cashier would
actually make it easier to steal. It would put the drug closer to the door
and in a part of the store with higher traffic, she said.