New Law Makes It Harder To Buy Key Meth Ingredient

A new law has taken effect that's aimed at making it tougher for people to get a key ingredient needed to produce the illegal drug methamphetamine. At the same time, the new law insures that allergy sufferers will still have access to the same substance, pseudoephedrine, which can mean the difference between clogged sinuses and being able to breathe. The new law stops a process called "smurfing" where manufacturers of meth ask various people to buy pseudoephedrine in small amounts from different locations. Attorney General Luther Strange said the Consumer Healthcare Products Association was launching a campaign to explain how the law works. Former state Rep. Blaine Galliher, an aide to Gov. Robert Bentley, said the law makes it illegal to buy pseudoephedrine if the buyer intends to sell it. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.