Common Household items
The problem with catching people who make meth is that it is, as you know, made with products that are easily accessible to anyone. Common household items from batteries to cold medicine can be found as ingredients in common meth labs. All of these items are obviously not illegal to buy, which makes it difficult to catch a meth user/dealer. States, such as Idaho, have had to enforce new laws regarding over the counter pills. Sudafed, a common over the counter drug now has restrictions on how many packages you can buy at one time and how many times you can purchase them a month. Other drugs have been taken off the counter and put back behind the pharmaceutical window. This has now put a new financial burden on the pharmacists and the stores they are in because the costs obtained by the new measures to log certain drug sales and monitor others are swallowed by the stores themselves and not that states. Below is a link to an article with more information on this topic and where I got some of my information mentioned above.
It is almost a catch 22, in order to stop these drug productions from happening, we have enforced new laws that have had a positive effect, but who picks up at a price. This law has obviously cost grocery and pharmacies a substantial amount, not to mention the loss in sales by honest buyers. I believe them to be a good decision on the states part, these labs need to be stopped, and the population that is getting their hands on the drug seems to be getting younger too. Hopefully this kind of enforcement has a noticeable effect.
Kjord Rovang
March 19, 2008