Indiana state police have discovered fewer clandestine methamphetamine labs since a state law restricting the sale of a key meth ingredient went into effect July 1, says the Louisville Courier-Journal. Lab busts from July through September were down about 32 percent from the same period a year ago, Gov. Mitch Daniels said. Meth-related arrests also are down. The law requires that most stores keep cold and allergy products containing pseudoephedrine behind a retail counter or in a locked case.
Even before the law went into effect, meth-lab busts had started falling behind the previous year’s numbers. State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell said the reduction probably is a result of paranoid meth cookers hearing that the changes were coming, getting nervous, and backing off production. It also could be the result of actions that retailers took on their own to limit the sales of cold and allergy products containing pseudoephedrine. Indiana has created a system to deal with children found living in homes used for meth labs. The first 22 inmates will complete the new Clean Living is Freedom Forever meth rehab program at the state’s prisons.
Link: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051013/NEWS02/510130398