The Prescription for Eradicating Meth Labs: A Call for States to Enact Stricter Chemical Control Over Precursors

• Author: Erin Reed
• Position: J.D. 2009
• Pages: 787-818

DTHE PRESCRIPTION FOR ERADICATING METH LABS:

A CALL FOR STATES TO ENACT STRICTER CHEMICAL

CONTROL OVER PRECURSORS

ERIN REED*

INTROD UCTIO N

Through the 1990s and into the turn of this cen tury, methampheta mine

abuse in the United States increased at a st eady rate.1 At the same ti me

there were between 106.5 and 144.1 metric tons of uncut

methamphetamine available i n the Uni ted States.2 This stag gering statis tic

is a consequenc e of methamphet amine’s sprawli ng infiltration into the

Central and Midwestern States.3 Most methamphetamine laboratories in

the Unit ed States are mobile, well-hidden, and extremely h azardous.4

Consequently, the production of methampheta mine threatens even those

who operate under t he illusion that they are far remove d from the crisis.

In response to this nati onal epidemic, the federal gov ernment

established a new clas s o f d rugs.5 Classifying methamphetami ne

precursors as “scheduled listed chemical products,” fe deral law now limit s

the quantity of precursors that may be sold to individual s and creates

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Copyright © 2009, Erin R eed.

* J.D. 2009. I wish to thank Zachary Swisher of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office

for his advice and also my h usband, Adam, for his patience.

1 NAT’L DRUG INTELLIGENCE CTR., U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTICE, NATIONAL METHAM PHETAMI NE

THREAT AS SESSMEN T 2008 1 (2007), available at h ttp://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs26/

26594/26594p.pd f [hereinafter METH THRE AT].

2 DRUG AVA ILABILI TY STEER ING COMM. , DR UG AVAILA BILITY ES TIMATE S IN THE

UNITED ST ATES 74 & n.31 (2002) (explaining tha t the term “un cut” is used to describe

methamphetamine that is at least ninety-two percent pure).

3 DARYL S. INABA & WILL IAM E. CO HEN, UPPERS, DO WNERS , ALL AROUNDER S

104–05 (5th ed. 2004).

4 MICHAEL S. SCOTT & KELLY DEDE L, U .S. DEP ’T OF JUST ICE, C LANDESTINE

METHAMPHETAMINE LABS 7–9 (2d ed. 2006), available at http://www.cops .usdoj.gov/

files/ric/Publications/e0706 3402.pdf.

5 Samantha S. McKinley & Joseph L. Fink III, “ Speed Limits:” States’ Approaches to

Reg ulati ng Ac cess to Meth amph etamin e Che mical Precu rsors with Statu tes an d

Regulations Limiting Pseud oephedrine Availability, 82 N.D. L. REV. 1217, 1227 (2006).

788 CAPITAL UNIV ERSITY LAW R EVIEW [37:787

storage and record keeping require ments for these items.6 The federal

government’s half-he arted attempt to regulate methampheta mine

precursors has been met with limited success.7 However, history reveals

that when it comes to s olutions wit h built-i n looph oles, any success

enjoyed is likely to be short lived.8

This commen t argues t hat as an alternative t o establishi ng a new

category of d rugs, restricting the sale of methamphetamine precursors to

prescription-onl y p urchases would more effectively combat th e il licit

production of meth amphetamine. Part I af fords a back ground on t he

evolution of the methamphetamine problems that plague the nation today.

Part II provides an overvie w of current laws aimed at preventing

methamphetamine manufacturing and production. Part III examines how

past legislative efforts aimed at fighting methamphetamine manufacturing

and abu se have been ci rcumvented b y those involved with t he illicit

production of met hamphetamine and ho w th e same f ate th reatens current

legislation. Finall y, Part IV addresses state authorit y to enact laws to

control dangerous drugs and balances chemical control of

methamphetamine precursors against legitimate interests.

I. TH E BIRTH OF AN EPI DEMIC

The stimulant effect of amphetamines was pop ularly recognized in

1930.9 Thi s effect was exploited i n World War II by Allied, German, and

Japanese forces as soldiers were routi nely supplied methamphetamine to

keep the m alert for longer p eriods of time.10 Shortly after the war,

methamphetamine was commercially available as the active in gredient in

Methedrine inhal ers, and was also marketed as an ov er-the-counter appetite

suppressant.11 By 1959 wide spr ead abuse of t hese products resulted in the

restriction of such sales .12 Methamphetamine was classified as a Schedule

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6 Id.

7 OFFICE OF NAT’L DR UG CONT ROL POLI CY, PUSHING BA CK AGAI NST METH: A

PROGRES S REP ORT ON T HE FI GHT AGAINST METHA MPHETA MINE IN THE UNI TED STATES

2 (2006), available at http://www.nattc.org/resPubs/meth/FINALPushingBackAgainstMethReport.pdf

[hereinafter PUSHING BA CK].

8 See FRANK OWEN, NO SPEED LI MITS: T HE HIGHS AND LOW S OF METH 19 (2007).

9 INABA & COHE N, supra note 3, at 10 2.

10 Id. at 103.

11 Id. at 102–03.

12 Id. at 103.

2009] THE PRESCRIPTION F OR ERADICATIN G METH LABS 789

II controlled substan ce under the Controlled Substances Act of 197 0.13

Despite these efforts to restrict methamphetamine abuse, th e illicit u se of

methamphetamine continued to gain momentum.14

A. Effects of Meth amphetamine Abuse

The ph ysical effect s of small doses of methamp hetamine i nclude

increased heart rate, raised body temperature, and appeti te suppression.15

Those who abuse methamphetamine on a larger scale sometimes go on

sleepless binges for up to ten days at a time.16 Long-term users risk severe

adverse health effect s including stroke and heart arrhyt hmias.17

Emotional effe cts associated with methamphetamine abus e include

paranoia, hal lucinations, and inflated confi dence, all of which lead to

aggressive behav ior.18 In extre me cases users are plagued by drug-in duced

psychosis.19 Long-t erm abuse of methamphetamine si gnificantly alters

brain chemistry, which res ults in disruption of phys ical con trol and

emotional pleasure .20

B. Methampheta mine Manufacturers

Early illicit man ufacturing of methamph etamine is attributed to West

Coast biker gangs such as th e Hell’s Angels.21 Today, roughly three-

quarters of illicit met hamphetamine cons umed in the United St ates is

produced in super labs run by Mexican gangs and drug cartel s.22 Super

labs are capable of producing over ten pounds o f m ethamphetamine in a

single cycle.23 The remaining quarter of illicit methamphetamine comes

from small toxic labs, which constitute the vas t majority of laboratories

seized in the Uni ted States.24

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13 Id.

14 Id.

15 Id. at 106.

16 Id.

17 Id. at 106–07.

18 Id. at 107.

19 Id.

20 Id. at 106 (citation omitted).

21 OWEN, supra no te 8, at 17.

22 INABA & COHEN, supra note 3, at 104–05; SCOTT & DEDEL, supra note 4, at 7, 9.

23 SCOTT & DEDEL, supra note 4, at 6.

24 Id. at 7.