2008 Woodie Awards
Local meth numbers drop
Chris Boning
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: News
"We were and would have continued to be successful without the laws just because ... of the community-wide effort, but the new laws have certainly helped and have made the successes greater than they would have been otherwise," Hughes said.
Nick Cook, project coordinator for the Adair County Drug Coalition, said only having one meth-related incident in the area is cause to celebrate.
"It's testament to the work that's been done as far as reducing meth lab incidents in Adair County," he said of the sharp decrease.
Now that meth has subsided in the county, the coalition has been free to take on other drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, in its prevention and education efforts, Cook said. However, that does not mean the group has completely dropped the issue.
"We still try to give presentations on meth and try to keep people aware of meth," he said. "It still is a little bit of a problem, but not quite as big [of] a problem in the past."
Cook said the coalition also still is receiving money from the $100,000 federal Drug Free Community grant it received in 2004 and soon will apply for a fifth year of funding. The group uses the grant for targeting drug usage in the area and educating adults about illegal substances, he added.
Hy-Vee pharmacy manager Jim Brittain said sales of pseudoephedrine are down at the moment.
"[It's] done a great job," he said of the legislation regulating sales.
Customers who buy products containing pseudoephedrine are required to produce photo identification and sign a log, among other precautions, Brittain added. He said local law enforcement agencies then monitor purchase patterns to determine suspicious behavior characteristic of meth producers.
Brittain said he has received a few complaints from people who cited the purchase log as a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. In reality, the log is exempt from HIPAA regulations, he said.
New legislation currently is on the table at the state level. SB 732 would, among other regulations, require pharmacies to log pseudoephedrine purchases electronically, according to the Missouri Senate's Web site.
Brittain said that overall he supports the measure because it would make it easier to track suspected meth producers. However, he said he is concerned that the cost of buying special equipment would harm small, independently run pharmacies and that he hopes that legislators include some sort of rebate for such businesses.
Nick Cook, project coordinator for the Adair County Drug Coalition, said only having one meth-related incident in the area is cause to celebrate.
"It's testament to the work that's been done as far as reducing meth lab incidents in Adair County," he said of the sharp decrease.
Now that meth has subsided in the county, the coalition has been free to take on other drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, in its prevention and education efforts, Cook said. However, that does not mean the group has completely dropped the issue.
"We still try to give presentations on meth and try to keep people aware of meth," he said. "It still is a little bit of a problem, but not quite as big [of] a problem in the past."
Cook said the coalition also still is receiving money from the $100,000 federal Drug Free Community grant it received in 2004 and soon will apply for a fifth year of funding. The group uses the grant for targeting drug usage in the area and educating adults about illegal substances, he added.
Hy-Vee pharmacy manager Jim Brittain said sales of pseudoephedrine are down at the moment.
"[It's] done a great job," he said of the legislation regulating sales.
Customers who buy products containing pseudoephedrine are required to produce photo identification and sign a log, among other precautions, Brittain added. He said local law enforcement agencies then monitor purchase patterns to determine suspicious behavior characteristic of meth producers.
Brittain said he has received a few complaints from people who cited the purchase log as a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. In reality, the log is exempt from HIPAA regulations, he said.
New legislation currently is on the table at the state level. SB 732 would, among other regulations, require pharmacies to log pseudoephedrine purchases electronically, according to the Missouri Senate's Web site.
Brittain said that overall he supports the measure because it would make it easier to track suspected meth producers. However, he said he is concerned that the cost of buying special equipment would harm small, independently run pharmacies and that he hopes that legislators include some sort of rebate for such businesses.
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