Wisconsin legislators are proposing a bill to prevent methamphetamine producers from easily accessing the drug's main ingredient, pseudoephedrine, in stores.

The legislation would make pseudoephedrine, an ingredient also found in nonprescription cold medicines like Sudafed, available only behind the pharmacy counter. The bill states people purchasing such drugs must sign a registry and present picture identification.

Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls), the Senate's lead author of the bill, said it was drafted due to a recent increase in methamphetamine production and use in northwestern Wisconsin.

"The message has been loud and clear that it's creating a huge problem in our part of the state," Harsdorf said. "The drug is highly addictive with a very low rate of recovery."

The legislators have talked with law enforcement officials, judges and parents in formulating the bill, according to Harsdorf. She said increasing prevalence of the drug is causing many problems.

"Not only are we losing a lot of life but it's destroying families, a cost to law enforcement and a cost to courts," she said.

According to Rusty Payne, spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, other states have passed legislation similar to Wisconsin's bill and experienced a significant downturn in methamphetamine production.

"One state that appears to be having success is Oklahoma," Payne said. "Folks in Oklahoma are now saying meth lab seizures are down 80 percent from one year ago."

Payne said meth production is more predominant in the Midwest.

"One of the reasons meth is more common in the Midwest is because it can stay under the radar in more rural areas," he said. "Being out of sight is better for the manufacturers and traffickers."

According to the administration's National Meth Clandestine Laboratory Database, there were 74 incidents of meth labs, dump sites or production equipment seized in Wisconsin in 2004.

Wisconsin's bill proposes that making pseudoephedrine available only at pharmacies would help reduce this number. According to the legislation, people would be prohibited from buying more than nine grams of the drug within a 30-day period in addition to registering and showing identification when purchasing.

Similar legislation is pending at the national level as well, according to Mary Ann Wagner, vice president of pharmacy regulatory affairs at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

Wagner said the association has been involved in helping the federal, as well as state, bills be effective in curbing meth production without inconveniencing customers who need pseudoephedrine for medical purposes.

"We want to work with these folks to accomplish their objectives without restricting access to legitimate customers," Wagner said.

Stressing that the National Association of Chain Drug Stores was not opposed to such legislation, Wagner also said making all drugs containing pseudoephedrine available only at pharmacies may not be the best plan.

She suggested putting pseudoephedrine behind a manned, but not necessarily a pharmaceutical, counter.

"That would still preserve access for legitimate customers," Wagner said. "Then people can still get it without a pharmacy."

But Harsdorf said this plan would still allow meth producers to go from one store to another, purchasing smaller amounts but eventually attaining enough of the drug.

"We can't afford not to do something," she said.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 17 2005.