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If controlling the sales of Sudafed and other drugs containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine can limit access to precursor materials used to make one of the most addictive, destructive drugs the world has seen, then it is worth a slight inconvenience on the part of consumers of allergy , cold, and sinus congestion medications.

Methamphetamine ("meth") is a powerfully addictive drug that severely affects users' minds and bodies, ruining lives and endangering the lives of users' families, friends, and community members. Chronic use can lead to extremely violent behavior, domestic abuse, and even neglect of the user's children (1). In July 18, 2006, the National Association of Counties Survey found that meth is the leading drug-related local law enforcement problem in the country, more than more than cocaine (22%), marijuana (22%) and heroin (3%) combined (1). The intoxicating effects of methamphetamine can alter judgment and inhibition, leading people to engage in unsafe behaviors like needle-sharing and failure to wear condoms . So an increase in transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C may be yet another unfortunate consequence of meth abuse. (2).

In addition, the production of meth may have severe and costly consequences on the environment. Meth labs found in homes, cars, hotel rooms, storage facilities are generally referred to as "clandestine labs". For each pound of methamphetamine produced, five to seven pounds of toxic waste remains. This toxic waste is often introduced into the environment by users who leave it on the premises or illegally dumping it in backyards or ditches or down municipal sewer systems (3). It is then introduced into the environment through streams, septic systems, and surface water run-off (1). According to police in Arkansas, cleanup costs can range anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the size of the lab (4) .

Unfortunately, methamphetamine, unlike other highly abused controlled substances such as cocaine and heroin, can be easily manufactured with common household agents (1,3). Pseudoephedrine, sold under the trademark name "Sudafed", is currently listed internationally as a Table I precursor under the "United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances" (5, 6). The precursor materials, like the pseudoephedrine in Sudafed, the ether from starting fluid cans, and the lithium batteries, are all easily obtained (7). It is the manufacturing process that is

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