State policymakers are devising strategies to curb the use of meth—a highly addictive stimulant and the most prevalent synthetic drug manufactured in the United States.
The recently created N.C. House Select Committee on Methamphetamine Abuse held its first meeting last week. The committee, co-chaired by Republican representatives Craig Horn and John Faircloth, seeks to study meth abuse trends in North Carolina in order to decrease use of the drug. In 2012, a new law will take effect, mandating that retailers register customers who buy cold medicine—which contains a key ingredient used in the production of meth—in a national database.
“This is a very important issue and a very dangerous one,” said Rep. Marian McLawhorn, D-N.C. and a member of the committee, which was approved by N.C. legislatures in September. “We need to let people know how dangerous it is to be in an area where meth is made.”
Meth abuse decreased in 2005, when North Carolina implemented photo identification checks and limits on the purchase of pseudoephedrine—the drug found in cold medicines that meth makers utilize. Recently, though, meth use has been rising as people find ways to circumvent the law.
More than 270 meth labs have been discovered so far this year, predominately in rural areas, said Hal Pell, staff attorney at the N.C. General Assembly.
In response to this state-wide trend, the legislators ratified House Bill 12 in June.
“House Bill 12 studies and analyzes the number of methamphetamine labs that are discovered in the state annually,” Pell said. “It also calls for the implementation of a national precursor log exchange.”
The national precursor log exchange is an electronic system that will track when and where a customer purchases pseudoephedrine. If an individual’s purchase of pseudoephedrine exceeds the legal amount, the transaction will be denied.
“The target date for implementation [of the system] was Jan. 1,” Pell said. “It is now projected to be ready by Dec. 1.”
Although meth abuse may be increasing in North Carolina, it is not noticeably visible on Duke’s campus.
Instances of meth abuse on campus are very rare, said Elizabeth Prince, assistant director of the Duke Student Wellness Center.
“I am sure there are people who are abusing meth on campus,” Prince said. “But that number is very low.”
Considering drug abuse on campus in general, 77 percent of Duke students have never used any drugs, including cigars, meth and cocaine, said Tom Szigethy, associate dean and director of the Duke Student Wellness Center.
“We are tackling things from a wellness perspective,” Prince said. “If you’re messing around with this stuff, then it messes with many parts of your life—emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. We are trying to get students to realize that if you’re stressed out, using these substances will only make you more stressed out.”
Junior Aadya Deshpande noted that she has never encountered meth on campus.
“The drugs I’ve heard most about on campus are marijuana and cocaine,” Deshpande said. “I have never heard of anyone using meth.”
Freshman Max Semler said he questioned the logistics of doing meth as a student.
“You wouldn’t be able to be a Duke student and do meth,” Semler said. “It’s just too much.”
To combat the statewide trend, the N.C. committee plans to study whether pseudoephedrine can be made a prescription medication and to examine legislation passed in other states declaring the drug a “schedule III” controlled substance. That classification limits the availability of the drug.
At the October meeting, committee members heard from John Emerson, director of the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program in North Carolina; State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Van Shaw; and Lisa Kahl-Hillerich, a representative from a pseudoephedrine manufacturer.
The first meeting dealt with preliminaries, said Rep. Annie Mobley, D-N.C.
“We discussed the direction of the committee—what we want to achieve, what we will do and who we plan to invite to meetings,” she said. “We hope to be able to set some legislation in future meetings.”
The state’s current budget deficits may limit the committee, McLawhorn noted.
“We need to figure out what legislatively we can do to help with this issue,” she said. “Given the current budget constraints, it will be difficult to just hand down money.”
McLawhorn added that she believes it is important to provide law enforcement with the funding they need to combat the issue, even in the tough economic times.
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