USA: Federal controls needed in methamphetamine battle

Methamphetamine cooks have found their pseudoephedrine supply line dry up so they're crossing the border in search of raw materials.

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma says 11 people have been convicted in recent months for trafficking in pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth manufacture.

The Associated Press says that since the new law limiting the sale of products containing pseudoephedrine went into effect in April of 2004, the number of meth labs seized in Oklahoma was cut nearly in half. Pharmacies require a signature and a driver's license and the amount that can be purchased is restricted.

Robert McCampbell said that in one case in May, two Oklahoma residents were spotted at a Wichita Falls, Texas, shopping center allegedly purchasing products used to cook methamphetamines. The suspects were pulled over by a Cotton County sheriff's deputy, who discovered eight boxes of pseudoephedrine, 13 cans of starting fluid, eight bottles of liquid Heet, a can of camping fuel, lithium batteries and other paraphernalia used to make meth.

A federal law limiting sales and a way to track purchases throughout the country is needed. It would keep meth cooks from setting up shops in border towns where the raw materials are easily available.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org/amphetablog.html
Pubdate: Thur, 01 Sep 2005
Source: The Norman Transcript
Website: http://www.normantranscript.com/
Copyright: 2005 The Norman Transcript