New drug restrictions are paying off

One of the injustices of crime is that we all pay for it.

Those who would convert a legal medication into a highly addictive, illegal drug, have made it more inconvenient for the rest of us to find relief when we have the common cold.

Beginning Sept. 3, 2005, cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine were placed behind store counters and sales were restricted to no more than 1,440 milligrams a day, and then only to those 18 or older who show identification and sign a logbook.

Many of us who don't want to go to that trouble have tried other remedies for the sniffles.

Inconvenient, yes, but it's paid off.

In the year preceding the new law going into effect there were 322 meth labs in Nebraska. In the year following, only 53.

A national trend followed as other states followed suit.

So far this year, there have been about 5,000 "lab incidents" ranging from dumpsites to full-blown labs, putting 2006 on pace to be the third year in a row for a decrease. Last year there were 12,130 lab incidents nationwide; 17,170 the year before.

Gov. Dave Heineman, noting the 80 percent dropoff in Nebraska meth labs, expressed thanks to the Legislature for the work it took to enact the law.

But no one is naive enough to think the meth problem is going away, and some think meth abuse is on the increase.

It's not coming from home-grown labs, but "it's still coming," according to Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning. "It's just coming up through Mexico."

Sheriff Gene Mahon agrees; there still seems to be plenty of meth-related activity in Red Willow County, but the last meth lab his office investigated was a couple of years ago.

Thefts of anhydrous ammonia -- used to make the drug -- are still being reported, but the labs apparently are being moved farther underground, to areas with less law enforcement, Mahon said.

Rural areas like Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas are especially vulnerable to hosting meth labs, because of the isolation and availability of raw materials. And, local law enforcement, volunteer emergency crews and, ultimately taxpayers, bear the burden of cleaning up the clandestine drug labs.

So while having to ask a druggist for a nonprescription drug is inconvenient, it's worth it.