NEW BILL TARGETS METH LAB SUPPLIES

A bill introduced Tuesday will help law enforcement officials fight an
influx of makeshift chemical labs in which over-the-counter cold medicine
is converted to the illegal drug ''crank.''

House Bill 644 would make it illegal to possess a large quantity of
over-the-counter drugs that contain pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and
phenylpropanolamine if the intent is to make methamphetamines.

It would allow law enforcement to use the mere possession of large amounts
of cold medicine - more than 24 grams, or about 33 boxes of 24 tablets - as
evidence in and of itself of possible illegal drug activity.

''That would greatly enhance our abilities to prosecute,'' said Sgt. Darren
Smith of the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Brian Crall, R-Owensboro, would also make it a
crime to sell large quantities of the over-the-counter drugs, allowing law
enforcement to prosecute people who sell them out the back door.

Under current law, it's not a crime to sell mass amounts of pseudoephedrine
or ephedrine, since it is a legal drug.

Law enforcement officials who attended a press conference to support the
bill cited cases where the seller knew the intent was to manufacture
methamphetamines, but he couldn't be prosecuted because of the law.

''We're not going to let you get off on that loophole,'' Crall said.

Production of methamphetamine, which goes by the street names ''crank'' and
''crystal meth,'' is a growing problem that has gripped western Kentucky
and also moved north.

Northern Kentucky's multi-agency drug task force has broken up at least
eight meth labs in Boone and Grant counties since November and made about
22 arrests, Smith said.

Production of the drug has proliferated because the ingredients to make it
are so readily available, said Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain, who has
seen dozens of cases of people caught with large amounts of pseudoephedrine
or other over-the-counter drugs in his western Kentucky community.

''The fact is, (the cold medicine) is a legal commodity. It has a
legitimate use,'' he said.

Spread across a table at the press conference were some of the easily
attainable items used to make methamphetamines: table salt, coffee filters,
a wooden spoon, a length of garden hose and decongestants, among other things.

The only ingredient not there was anhydrous ammonia, the volatile chemical
that turns decongestants into harmful street drugs. The ammonia, which is
found in fertilizer used on farms, explodes easily, which is why meth
production is so dangerous.

The bill also would increase the penalty for making methamphetamines if the
production occurs within 100 feet of a minor, making it a Class A felony.

In the majority of the busts in Northern Kentucky, children were nearby, so
raising the penalty is a good thing, Smith said.

The Kentucky Retail Federation said it supports the bill because the way it
is written does not limit anyone's ability to buy cold medicine for
legitimate purposes.

The bill now goes to a House committee for a hearing.