LAW ENFORCEMENT SUPPORTING CRALL'S METH BILL

FRANKFORT -- Rep. Brian Crall and Sen. Robert Stivers have introduced
legislation that would make it illegal to possess more than 24 grams of
pseudoephedrine and establish it as a Class D felony for a first offense.

Pseudoephedrine, a drug contained in over-the-counter cold and sinus
tablets, is one of the ingredients used in making methamphetamine.

"This clarifies that possession of this drug in these quantities is a crime
itself," said Jim Acquisto, a detective sergeant in the narcotics division
of the Daviess County Sheriff's Department.

Crall, an Owensboro Republican, and Stivers, a Manchester Republican,
discussed House Bill 644 at a news conference Tuesday at the Capitol
flanked by Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain and Acquisto. A table in the
front of the room contained cold tablets and other common household
products that can be used to manufacture meth.

"Since 1998, western Kentucky has been in an epidemic with regard to the
use of methamphetamine because of the ease of making it," Cain said. "It's
a volatile and dangerous process."

More than 200 meth labs have been discovered in Daviess County since 1998,
Cain said.

"When we go to forums and provide education on this drug, we always get
asked why there aren't penalties for possession of these precursors," Cain
said. "This legislation was born out of that concern."

Crall said the meth problem is as significant to western Kentucky as the
oxycontin problem is in eastern Kentucky. Stivers said the meth problem is
gradually moving east and needs to be dealt with before it gets out of hand.

"This legislation will assist law enforcement in reducing the availability
of the precursors to methamphetamine without infringing or impinging on the
rights of individuals to legally buy and sell the drug," Crall said.

Gay Dwyer of the Kentucky Retail Federation said the bill has KRF's support.

"This focuses on the misuse of products, which is also a problem for
retailers who are selling for legitimate purposes," Dwyer said.

Cain said local retailers have worked with law enforcement on monitoring
the sale of cold and sinus medications that contain ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine.

Acquisto said he has had cases in which large doses of the tablets have
been found in an individual's possession. A charge was dismissed recently
because that was the only ingredient found on the suspect.

"We don't want to arrest someone who's using the drug legally," Acquisto
said. "The smallest lab in Daviess County -- the mom-and-pop labs -- will
accumulate 1,000 pills before they start cooking. That's well over 24 grams."

Acquisto said 24 grams would equal about 800 of the 30 milligram tablets or
400 in 60 milligrams.

"In my 28 years of law enforcement, I have not seen a substance that has
had such a negative impact. It has a stranglehold on western Kentucky,"
Cain said.

The sheriff said the reason it is so prevalent in western Kentucky is that
a key ingredient, anhydrous ammonia, is found in almost every field where
corn and soybeans are grown.

"Those people who make meth call it a field of dreams, and they're not
talking about baseball," Cain said.

The legislation doesn't apply to retailers, pharmacists, licensed health
care professionals and others who possess the precursor drugs for
legitimate business reasons.

The bill would establish unlawful possession and unlawful distribution of a
meth precursor such as pseudoephedrine as a Class D felony for the first
offense and a Class C felony for each offense after that. Those charges
would be enhanced to Class C felonies for the first offense if they are
committed in the presence of a minor.

The bill would increase the penalties for manufacturing meth if it is done
in the presence of a minor. The penalty would be raised from Class B to
Class A felony.