Meth producers targeted
By Mike Cruz
Staff Writer
July 01, 2005 - RIVERSIDE County supervisors moved to make it harder for drug abusers to get hold of medications used to make methamphetamine, but some grocery stores and pharmacies have already toughened up.
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance this week that made meth producers liable for damage and cleanup costs from their labs and established a hot line with rewards up to $10,000 for people who turn in producers of meth.
Wording in the original ordinance, proposed by Supervisor Jeff Stone, also forced retailers and pharmacies who sell products that contain pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed, to keep a log with buyers' personal information.
But that requirement was removed shortly before the ordinance was approved Tuesday because it clashed with state laws, county officials said. Nevertheless, prosecutors believe every little bit helps in the county's war against manufacturers of meth.
"People who are making and processing meth present a great threat to the safety of our community that a lot of people don't realize from the outset,' said Deputy District Attorney Mark Davison. "Anything that helps curtail that is a benefit to the county.'
The state already has laws that limit the purchase of Sudafed-type products to 9 grams, or roughly two packages, officials said. Also, some grocery stores and pharmacies have already voluntarily removed open access to those medications by consumers, and instead put them behind a counter or in a locked case.
Rite-Aid, which has two drugstores in Banning, announced in April that it would move all solid single-ingredient pseudoephedrine products behind the pharmacy counter and move all multi-ingredient products no later than Aug. 1.
Walgreens, which has locations in Banning and Beaumont, said it made the same move with single-ingredient products in June. Liquid and gelcap forms of the medication are still freely accessible at both retailers.
"Walgreens is taking this action as part of efforts to prevent these products from being used in the growing problem of methamphetamine production,' company officials said in a statement.
Meanwhile at a couple of drugstores in Yucaipa in San Bernardino County, pharmacists say they have long tried to keep some control on over-the-counter drugs used in meth production.
Gary Eirew, the head pharmacist at Sail Drug and Discount Center in Yucaipa, said store workers have used a log book for years to curtail the purchase of pseudoephedrine for illegal uses.
"(The medication) is in a locked area behind the pharmacy counter,' Eirew said.
With the extra precautions, meth producers know they will not have much luck at his store, he said.
Pharmacist Charles Miller at the Medicine Shoppe in Yucaipa said his pharmacy does not carry large packages of the medications, and he would not have a problem with keeping a log if he had to.
"I don't think you'll see the pharmacists community reacting in a big way,' said Miller, who has been in the profession for 34 years. "When you see the misuse of drugs, it's something that really annoys you.'
Grocery stores are also falling in line with the voluntary wave of securing pseudoephedrine medications, much like they do tobacco products. Officials for Kroger, the parent company for Ralphs and Food 4 Less, which has a location in Beaumont, said it would be securing its pseudoephedrine medications over the next few months.
"By and large, we're willing to do our part and get these off readily accessible shelves,' said Paul A. Smith, a vice president for the California Grocers Association, which has Food 4 Less, Albertsons, Stater Bros., Smart and Final, and Wal-Mart as members.
However, the California Grocers Association does object to wording that requires the stores to keep the medications behind the pharmacy counter, because not all of the stores have pharmacies. The association also objects to forcing grocers to keep a log of buyers' personal information.
"It's extremely intrusive,' Smith said. "It's certainly not a clerk's responsibility (to collect personal information), nor should it be.'
But the fight against meth producers' access to pseudoephedrine does not stop in Riverside County. There is a move at the federal level to make the products more secure.
The Senate Judiciary Committee was expected to consider legislation this week modeled after an Oklahoma law that limited access to pseudoephedrine and resulted in an 80percent drop in meth labs seized in that state.
The bill, which would create a national standard, was developed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Jim Talent, R-Mo. It would move the medicines behind the counter, reduce the legal purchase limit to 7 grams, require signatures and identification from purchasers, create a national meth-treatment center, and authorize $43million for enforcement, training and treatment research.
Alternatives would be available to stores without pharmacies and stores in rural areas, and exemptions would be available for retailers in airports.
"It is my hope that the committee and Congress will approve this legislation so that we can bring this epidemic under control,' Feinstein said in a statement Tuesday.
Supervisor Jeff Stone did not return phone calls for comment Friday.
Governor announces meth coalition
By Crystal Beckett
crystal@jrpress.com
Indiana took additional steps to strengthen its fight against methamphetamine use on Wednesday, as Gov. Mitch Daniels announced formation of the Meth Free Indiana Coalition.
The collaborative effort among more than 15 law enforcement, social services agencies and business and trade associations from across the state will focus on prevention, education, treatment and enforcement.
?riday, when the Meth Prevention Act (became) effective, Indiana will no longer be a clearinghouse for the purchase of methamphetamine ingredients,·the governor said during a stop at Marsh Supermarket in Fort Wayne. ?n addition, we are gathering the state? resources to further educate the public so Hoosiers can become more active in helping our efforts.·P>? think it is an inconvenience for the customers, due to the need for the ephedrine products,·Crawfordsville CVS Pharmacist Mandy Johnson said. ?hey have to wait in line to get the medications, but it is a good thing that we are taking steps to be creative and make the use of ephedrine less useful to those who use it in a negative way. We hope the cutomers don? see it as an inconvenience due to the need for this step (in) the community.·P>?ur store has already moved all of the ephedrine contained products back into the pharmacy.·she said. ?t was a chore, but well worth it.·P>The ?og·was hung Friday to explain the law to customers, she said. The majority of customers understood, but a few complaints have been made about the inconvenience.
?opefully, they understand that it will help to improve the problem we have in the community,·Johnson said.
The Meth Free Indiana Coalition will be coordinated by the Criminal Justice Institute. The coalition will launch the Meth Watch program soon to better help retailers understand the law? new requirements and extend education efforts to the public.
The Criminal Justice Institute recently sent packets of information about the new law to more than 5,000 retailers across the state. The packets include instructions to help retailers implement the law, state police approved log sheets and a list of the more than 700 products affected by the new law.
? know this law is a personal inconvenience, but it? one that I hope most Hoosiers are willing to accept because it helps us shut down access to this devastating drug,·Daniels said.
Among requirements, purchasers of products containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine must be 18 years or older, present an Indiana identification and sign a sales log. In addition, pharmacies or stores with open pharmacies must place such products in the direct line of sight of a pharmacy counter with constant video monitoring, in a locked cabinet or behind a counter.
Stores that do not have pharmacies or when their pharmacies are closed, must place such products in a locked cabinet or behind a counter. Consumers also are limited to the purchase of 3 grams of products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine per week.
Indiana is the only state to include liquid and gel tabs in its restrictions.
Hazelden-TPT Programs on Meth
CENTER CITY, Minn., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- These timely and cutting edge programs produced by Twin Cities Public Television and Hazelden Foundation will be rebroadcast Sunday, July 17 at 8:00 PM on Ch 17. A live meth hotline, staffed by Hazelden employees, will also be operating LIVE during the broadcasts to answer viewers questions and concerns about meth.
Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) partnered with the Hazelden Foundation, one of the nation's leading addiction treatment organizations, to produce METH - Shadow Across America and Life After Meth. The premiere broadcast of METH - Shadow Across America last fall broke the viewership record for any Minnesota Channel production to date. Both programs have since been broadcast twice in the Twin Cities and picked up by PBS affiliates in several other states.
"Given the significant impact of methamphetamine abuse all across the state, these programs are designed to educate the public about this important issue and offer hope of recovery from addiction," said Carol Falkowski, Hazelden's Director of Research Communications and producer of the programs. "With all the pain out there about this drug, our LIVE meth hotline can really make a difference to people."
METH - Shadow Across America is a compelling, fast-paced, 30-minute documentary addresses the far-reaching nature and extent of meth-related issues from the perspective of law enforcement, former users, and treatment professionals. Experts including US Attorney Tom Heffelfinger and a St. Paul Police Officer discuss the dangers of meth labs, meth addiction, and the solutions to this growing menace.
Life After Meth features the stories of six people who have recovered from meth addiction -- three teenagers and three adults. Their stories give hope by demonstrating that addiction is a treatable disease and that recovery -- even after meth addiction -- IS possible.
The nonprofit Hazelden Foundation, founded in 1949, pioneered the model of care for alcoholism, drug addiction, and related diseases that is now the most widely used in the world. Today, with more than 50 years of experience and an unparalleled breadth of services, Hazelden is an international provider of prevention, treatment, recovery, research, and training resources. Hazelden offers programs, services, and publications to people affected by addiction -- individuals, families, and communities. For more information please visit http://www.hazelden.org .
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Source: Hazelden Foundation
Preempting the precursor
Local officials consider regulating ingredients used to make meth
By Julie Pence
Times-News writer
TWIN FALLS - July 3, 2005 - Some Twin Falls addiction counselors say putting pseudoephedrine products in the pharmacy would be a great thing.
The way it is now, "any time you walk into a convenience store, it's right there in your face," says Chris C. Gibson, who counsels teenage addicts at the Walker Center in Twin Falls. "There's no age limit on buying. I call it legal speed over the counter."
Last winter the Legislature pondered a law that would have forced pharmacists to dispense most pseudoephedrine products, though prescriptions would not have been required. People wanting those cold medications would have had to get them at the pharmacy, and they would have had to sign for the stuff. In the end, the legislation failed.
So now a Twin Falls city councilman is looking into a city ordinance to force the issue.
"Sometimes it takes two or three years to get legislation passed. Meantime, we have a terrible social problem that needs attention now," Councilman Dennis Maughan said.
But before the City Council can pass an ordinance, members have to make sure they have the authority to regulate the sale of the drug locally. The city attorney has asked for an opinion from the state attorney general's office.
Why regulate the drug?
Pseudoephedrine is a legal ingredient that is found in several over-the-counter cold and allergy medications. It's the substance cooked into the highly addictive street drug methamphetamine -- Idaho's drug of choice -- that gives users their high. More than 10 percent of all the methamphetamine used in this state is cooked right here in Idaho, according to Col. Dan Charboneou, who heads the Idaho State Police. The rest of it comes from outside Idaho, with much of it being manufactured in Mexico.
Between 1999 and October of 2004, law enforcement throughout Twin Falls County uncovered 17 meth labs, four of which were found in 2004. Charboneau said statistics from the Drug Enforcement Agency indicate to him the number of meth labs could be 10 times the number of actual busts.
Though no one can prove for sure how many labs are not being uncovered, Gibson agrees with Charboneau's assessment.
"I compare it to drinking and driving," Gibson said. "For every DUI, that person has probably driven drunk between 200 and 300 times before they were caught."
Gibson said meth is so prevalent in Twin Falls that it's not unusual to smell it, either being cooked or smoked, when you're simply walking along residential streets. People say it smells like dirty socks or a dirty bathroom or cat urine.
"I ask kids how they can afford to buy this," Gibson said. "They say it's being given to them. There is so much around here they don't even have to pay for it."
She said she counsels meth addicts as young as 13.
Dr. Eric Heidenreich is a psychiatrist at Canyon View Psychiatric & Addiction Services where he says about 20 percent of patients are recovering meth addicts. Being addicted to meth is extra dangerous because it damages the feel-good nerve endings in the brain, he said. To make matters worse, users can get the ingredients for it is so easy.
"You don't have to go to Brazil to get your cocaine or China for your opium. It's right next door," he said.
Heidenreich predicted an increase in meth labs locally if Idaho doesn't clamp down on pseudoephedrine sales. As surrounding states restrict sales of the ingredient used to make meth, producers will view Idaho as place to get precursor products, he said. So far, bordering states that make purchasers sign for pseudoephedrine include Oregon and Washington. Utah limits how much can be purchased at one time. Across the nation 44 states have either passed or have been looking at passing laws to regulate sales.
In addition, the U.S. Senate is considering legislation to put the product behind the counter and require customers to show identification and sign a log book.
A visit into 10 different sized grocery and convenience stores and pharmacies around Twin Falls shows access to pseudoephedrine runs the gamut. Fred Meyer One Stop Shopping, for example, has put products in which the pseudoephedrine is easily extracted for cooking meth behind the pharmacy, whereas in some stores the products are out in the open.
Twin Falls Police Staff Sgt. Steve Benkula said just because the stuff appears to be easily obtained, that's not always so. In certain stores a cash register alert will prompt the clerks to notify police when a customer tries to buy three precursor products at one time, he said. Some other products that go into a mess of meth include lye, red sulfur from match tips, camp-stove fuel and gas-tank additive.
If someone tries to buy a lot of one precursor at one time, some stores also are tracking that, he said. The federal government places a limit of eight packages per person at one time. That doesn't stop people from stealing it, however, Rite Aid pharmacist Darlene Collier explained. As a result, the chain also put most of its pseudoephedrine products in the pharmacy.
Gibson said some convenience stores encourage pseudoephedrine sales and also purchases of devices for smoking "crink," which is a street name for meth. Following up on Gibson's suggestion, a Times-News reporter purchased glass pipes at a convenience store that Gibson says are common tools for smoking meth.
"You can basically get half of what you need to become a meth user at a convenience store," she said. But also, Gibson said meth users will buy pseudoephedrine, not to make meth, but to extend their highs. In addition, to escape detection meth cookers resort to buying only two packages in one store, and then move on for another purchase somewhere else, and so on -- since they don't have to register.
Drug stores sell needles to inject meth, and no accounting is required of the sales.
Pharmacist Dave Nelson of SAV-MOR Drug said he's not critical of Maughan's desire to make the drug less accessible. Nelson's drug store is small enough that he can dispense the cold medication easily enough, but he questioned how busy convenience stores or larger pharmacies could meet the registration requirement and added customer service requirements.
In fact, it was those kinds of inconveniences that caused retailers to drive the final stake in the proposed legislation at the Statehouse last winter.
What next?
If it turns out that Idaho cities don't have the right to pass ordinances, Maughan says the council can resort to writing letters to all Twin Falls retailers that sell the stuff, asking them to voluntarily restrict sales.
"And we will heavily lobby the Legislature more than we did last year as an association of cities," he said.
But will putting pseudoephedrine behind the counter stop local manufacturing? There are at least two other chemicals -- one an ammonia derivative and another an amino acid -- that can be substituted for pseudoephedrine in meth production.
Maughan acknowledged there is about 5 percent of the population that will constantly be looking to get high in inappropriate ways. But no matter, society has to do its best to curtail it, he said.
Twin Falls Police Sgt. Matt Hicks said, "There is a real hesitancy to regulate this because people don't want to ruin anyone's business.
"But every little bit helps. Maybe some of those folks on the fence who might want to experiment, maybe it would make it harder for them to get involved."
Times-News writer Julie Pence can be reached at 735-3241 or by e-mail at jpence@magicvalley.com.
Meth Facts
Methamphetamine use increases energy and alertness and decreases appetite. The intense rush and high felt from meth results from the release of high levels of dopamine into the section of the brain that controls the feeling of pleasure. The effects can last up to 12 hours.
Chronic use results in a tolerance buildup, and consequently users might try to intensify the desired effects by taking higher doses, more frequently, or by changing method of ingestion.
Chronic abuse can lead to intense paranoia, auditory hallucinations and out-of-control rages resulting in violence. Some users develop sores on their bodies.
* A few hundred dollars in over-the-counter medicines and various chemicals will produce thousands of dollars of methamphetamine.
* Between 1999 and 2000 there were 17 meth lab busts in Blaine, Cassia, Jerome, Minidoka and Twin Falls counties. These counties belong to a law enforcement area called Region 4. Region 4 has seized the least amount of meth labs in Idaho.
* Across the state in 2000, there were 186 meth labs busts, while in 2004 there were only 33. Twin Falls Staff Sgt. Steve Benkula said that indicates people who cook meth are resorting to portable labs, which are harder to nab.
* Meth lab cleanup typically costs between $3,500 and $5,000, but some cleanup can cost upwards of $20,000.
* According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2002 more than 12 million people age 12 and older (5.3 percent) reported that they had used meth at least once in their lifetime. Meth use in concentrated in the West and Midwest.
Source: Idaho State Police.