Nearly a year ago, this newspaper devoted a fair amount of research, time and newsprint to examine what methamphetamine is doing to our communities and the people who live here.
We learned that many quickly develop addictions to meth — some almost instantly. We learned that it’s very hard to shake a meth addiction — it’s not a matter of “kicking the habit.” We learned that it’s deadly. We learned that it eats away at families and social structures as well as individuals.
It was not a pretty picture.
Sadly, not much has changed. A glance at nearly any day’s news from local police stations is evidence of that.
Nearly a year ago, we learned that many police officers, prosecutors and other people wanted the laws changed so that some cold medicines would be available only by prescription.
That’s because pseudoephedrine — a substance found in medicines such as Allegra-D and Zyrtec-D — is one of the critical ingredient in making meth.
Two states, Oregon and Mississippi — have taken that step. They also rank low when it comes to meth lab seizures. Oregon recorded just nine meth lab incidents in 2012. Mississippi had five.
In Indiana, the medication is still available over the counter. There are restrictions on how much a person can buy within given time periods. And buyers must provide their names, addresses and IDs, which are put into a database. But, as we noted nearly a year ago, those laws have not slowed the meth tide.
In fact, Indiana ranked among the top five states in meth lab incidents with 1,726 in 2012.
That’s not a pretty picture, either.
And not much has changed.
On Friday, Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett hosted a conference. The idea was to line up other Indiana mayors and law enforcement leaders to make another push for the prescription-only law.
The Terre Haute Tribune-Star covered the gathering.
Niki Crawford of the Indiana State Police meth suppression unit was among the speakers at that conference, according to the Tribune-Star.
She said one box of pseudoephedrine-based medicine is purchased every 15 seconds in Indiana
“Do we have allergies that bad?” she asked.
The are still critics of this approach, such as the people at the Cascade Policy Institute. They argue Oregon’s meth reports started to decline before the law took effect. And they said other states, where pseudoephedrine products remained available over-the-counter, also have seen declines.
These are arguments Hoosiers have heard before — about a year ago, in fact.
As we noted then, new rules will not transform criminals and drug users into law-abiding citizens.
But it’s apparent other states have made strides in the meth war while keeping cold medications within the reach of ordinary people who need them.
Hoosier lawmakers need to learn the lessons those states can teach us.
As we said in this space nearly a year ago, it’s past time our politicians set aside their political potshots and priority lists to focus their resources on meth.