Nevada law limits access to meth ingredients, boosts penalties

[Heretic.Ape.]

Nevada law limits access to meth ingredients, boosts penalties

ASSOCIATED PRESS
9:57 a.m. August 1, 2007
CARSON CITY, Nev. – An anti-methamphetamine law that took effect Wednesday could make it harder for some people to buy cold medicines, while making it easier for state and local police to crack down on meth manufacturing in Nevada.The sweeping law deals with many aspects of meth production, from restricting over-the-counter sales of the key ingredient pseudoephedrine to stiffening penalties for selling or buying drug-making chemicals.
“Meth has been in our community for 10 years, and we're seeing the effects of it now,” said Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, who pushed the bill during the 2007 Legislature.
Much of the new law mirrors the federal Combat Meth Act of 2005. That law requires medicines with the decongestant pseudoephedrine to be placed behind the counter. It also made buyers show identification and sign a logbook.
The Nevada Legislature's AB148 went a step further by restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine to pharmacies, and eliminating sales at convenience or grocery stores.
Liz MacMenamin, of the Retailers Association of Nevada, said many grocery and convenience stores stopped selling pseudoephedrine after the federal law took effect because of the cumbersome logbook requirement.
Those stores can sell a pseudoephedrine alternative called phenylephrine, which is not as effective or long-lasting, she said.
Nevada's new law also makes the use of a phony ID to buy pseudoephedrine a state crime. Before, it was a federal crime that could be prosecuted only by U.S. attorneys.
The law also stiffens penalties for people caught selling or buying chemicals used to make methamphetamine, making it a felony with a three- to 15-year prison sentence.
Pharmacists also must report large thefts of pseudoephedrine to the Nevada Department of Public Safety.
Most consumers won't notice the changes in the law because pharmacies have restricted access to pseudoephedrine, either voluntarily or because of federal law, for about three years, said Josh Stanley, a spokesman for the Nevada Pharmacist Association.
In recent years, stricter U.S. laws and controls on chemicals used to make methamphetamine have cut down on the number of local meth labs. In Nevada, authorities found 125 meth labs in 2003, but 35 last year.
Authorities say almost all meth now comes from Mexico, where drug cartels produce large amounts of meth and smuggle it across the border.



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