CARSON CITY -- Nevada should restrict access to the key ingredient in methamphetamine or face a resurgence of homegrown labs manufacturing the highly addictive drug, state lawmakers were told Wednesday.
Recent limits imposed on countries importing pseudoephedrine have reduced supplies from Mexico and that in turn has led to a decline in meth potency over the last 10 years, said Rob Bovett, attorney for the Oregon Narcotics Enforcement Agency.
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Bovett said Nevada has a "golden opportunity" to deal with the meth problem, adding that Oregon's small labs have disappeared since the state enacted legislation making pseudoephedrine-containing drugs available only by prescription.
"There will be a resurgence of demand to restart local meth labs. If you haven't controlled pseudoephedrine in your state, you are up for a bummer," Bovett told Senate and Assembly human services committees.
An ingredient in many cold medicines, the chemical gives meth its potency. Federal laws enacted in September stopped over-the-counter pharmacy sales of cold medicines with the chemical, but most are still available at convenience stores, Bovett said.
Only eight factories in the world, located in India, China and Germany, produce pseudoephedrine. In 2004, Mexico imported 224 metric tons of pseudoephedrine. Mexico imported only 64 metric tons in 2006, after import rules were enforced.
Nevada has seen an 82 percent drop in homegrown labs since 2001, but Bovett warned that could change and urged lawmakers to restrict access to pseudoephedrine-containing drugs.
First lady Dawn Gibbons called on legislators to pass measures to provide increased treatment for meth addicts and educate the public on the dangers of the drug.
Her husband, Gov. Jim Gibbons, has proposed spending $17 million on various programs to reduce methamphetamine use. They include assigning two squads of five special police officers to go into communities, search for and arrest methamphetamine users.
Gibbons, a former assemblywoman, said one in eight high school students in Nevada has tried methamphetamine and the Legislature "doesn't have the luxury not to do anything."
State archivists did not know the last time a first lady addressed the Legislature. Some said she probably is the first in more than 20 years.
Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto also addressed the panel.
Cortez Masto is chairwoman and Gibbons a member of a special working group on methamphetamine that Gov. Gibbons has directed to hold public meetings and come up with recommendations by April 1 for the Legislature to consider.
The attorney general said half of the criminal activity in the state is caused by meth users. Nevada ranks No. 1 in the nation in methamphetamine use with about 2 percent of the population over age 12 having tried the drug at least once.
"It is my number one priority," Cortez Masto said.
She said the next step for the working group is to take the best practices from other states and develop a state strategy.
In an interview following her speech, Gibbons said there may never be enough money to treat all methamphetamine victims because the problem is so huge.
"The best thing to do is prevention and awareness so people don't take the drug in the first place," she said.
"We don't even have a sound way of knowing what is the best treatment method. Some say a 12-step program with a religious component. Others say drug court. No one can soundly say this is the way to go."
Bovett said that treatment of those addicted to methamphetamine generally takes nine to 18 months and that graduates often return to using the drug.
"Treatment doesn't necessarily stick the first time," Bovett said.
