LAW MAY CUT COLD REMEDY ACCESS

War Against Meth

Medicines That Contain Ingredients Used To Make The Illegal Drug Are Targeted

WASHINGTON -- Congress could pass legislation next month that would
restrict access to common cold medicines used to make
methamphetamine, a crackdown down on legal remedies in the battle
against an illegal scourge.

Medicines such as Sudafed, Actifed and other brands that contain any
of three ingredients for meth would be put behind counters or locked
up. The measure would set national limits on how much of those
medicines each person can buy in a day and month, strengthening
restrictions in many of the 36 states with their own laws.

Identification and signatures would be required.

"I think it's a good step," said James McDonough, director of the
Florida Office of Drug Control, whose state has seen rampant meth
production in recent years. "It further limits it. I suppose it
raises a question about the legitimate sufferer of a cold . . . but I
don't see any problem with it. I like it."

Florida this year joined the list of states with some restrictions on
cold medicines containing ingredients for meth, but it's also one of
many that would see new rules if the stronger federal plan becomes law.

The crackdown is included in a draft compromise bill renewing
provisions of the USA Patriot Act, an anti-terrorism law enacted
after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Renewing the Patriot Act has hit
resistance in the Senate because of civil liberties concerns. But
pressure is growing to reach an accord when Congress returns in
December from a Thanksgiving break because many parts of the law
expire at the end of the year.

The meth provisions, which would greatly expand on past federal steps
such as requiring these pills to be sold in blister packs, were added
behind closed doors partly to sweeten the anti-terror law. Outcry
this past summer from county governments and law enforcement across
the nation prompted many members of Congress to call for action.

Meth is a highly addictive stimulant that is relatively cheap and
easily made from cold remedies that contain the chemicals
pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine, which would be
subject to the proposed restrictions. Meth labs, which are toxic and
have a tendency to explode, can be set up virtually anywhere. The
measure would inconvenience some families needing large supplies of
cold medicine, experts said. How much it would inconvenience meth
cooks is a different question.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, says it won't stop the criminals.

"That isn't going to be of consequence, and the meth cooks will
understand that," said King, who has sponsored stricter legislation
based on the law in his state, which is considered one of the
toughest. "They're breaking the law a lot of ways. They're not
worried about signing a logbook."

Assuming negotiators iron out differences over other aspects of the
Patriot Act, the medicine sale restrictions would take effect 30 days
after they become law, according to people familiar with the proposal
as it currently stands with the negotiators. Other meth-related
provisions would take effect next September.

Although signatures would be required at the checkout counter, the
proposal doesn't call for tracking individual sales to identify
people breaking the daily and monthly limits by going from store to store.

King argues that's what criminals would do. McDonough agreed that
could happen but said the point is to make the process as difficult
as possible.

"I like to believe civic minded merchants will say, `Why do you keep
coming back?' " he said.

Some lawmakers have opposed monthly sale limits. The House Energy and
Commerce Committee recently stripped a monthly limit from legislation
that chamber is considering.

"We thought the daily limit would be enough to make it harder for the
meth lab to get it without making it too hard for the consumer to get
it," said Terry Lane, spokesman for the panel chaired by Rep. Joe
Barton of Texas.

The 9-gram monthly limit in the Patriot Act version could still be a
lot of medicine and is more than some lawmakers have proposed. Meth
legislation has proliferated this year.

Existing federal law limits a box of medicine to 3 grams of the
precursor chemicals, but many medicines contain less than that. A
review of several brand-name cold remedies shows many range from 600
to 720 mg per box of pseudoephedrine, for example, depending on the
number of pills and dosage. The federal plan would allow a person to
buy up to five boxes containing 720 mg in 24 pills per day, and up to
12 such boxes in a month.

Some states limit sales by dosage or the box -- such as two boxes a
day or three per month. They could still do that or exceed the
federal requirements as long as the rules meet federal minimums in
the proposal.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores said the measure would
thwart meth labs without requiring prescriptions for cold medicine.
Mary Ann Wagner, a lobbyist for the association, said one meth bill
the Senate previously approved could trigger prescription
requirements for medicines in as many as 19 states.

Drugstores can live with the new plan, she said.

"It's going to be an inconvenience for people I'm sure, and that is a
problem and an issue and a concern for legitimate consumers," she
said. "But the methamphetamine problem has become such a problem
around the country we've got to do what we can."