Article published Mar 26, 2010 from the NEWSWEEK issue dated Apr 5, 2010

By David A. Graham

Methamphetamine makers across the country have expanded operations in recent years as demand for the feel-good drug has risen with unemployment. In Oregon, however, the once booming industry has nearly disappeared. Between 2005 and 2009 the number of lab seizures—the best indicator of production—dropped an astounding 96 percent, from 192 to 10, according to a recent report by the Oregon Narcotics Enforcement Association. Even more astounding: to get these results the state simply restricted cold and allergy medicines with pseudoephedrine, making this key meth ingredient unavailable without a prescription.

Were the rest of the U.S. to follow Oregon's lead, says Emory University professor Jean O’Connor, who studies meth policy, police could focus almost wholly on Mexican smugglers—America’s top meth suppliers. The number of users would continue to fall as well. Last year in Oregon, meth arrests were half of what they had been in 2006, the year the law took effect.

But don’t expect the stuff to be cleared from every corner of the country any time soon. While Mississippi has adopted Oregon's approach, at least 10 meth-afflicted states are sticking to a less effective eradication program: a database that lets pharmacists track pseudoephedrine purchases. It’s a popular fix for lawmakers, since drug companies—protective of their $500 million cold-and-allergy-care business—set up the systems for free, and runny-nosed voters can’t complain. But it’s popular with dealers, too, who can dupe the system with an army of small-batch buyers. In Oklahoma, for example, the database has cut lab seizures by about 50 percent—a significant number, but still shy of Oregon’s silver bullet.