US OK: New Law Credited For 124 Fewer Meth Labs In Oklahoma: "Oklahoma had 124 fewer methamphetamine labs during the first six months of the year, thanks to a new state law that restricts sales of common cold remedies that contain the illegal drug's key ingredient, officials said Monday.
The decline followed passage of legislation this spring that banned store sales of popular medications like Sudafed and Claritin-D that contain pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in methamphetamine.
The dramatic drop in meth labs saved Oklahoma taxpayers $434,000 in cleanup costs for removing the hazardous materials used to produce the drug, said Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.
It costs the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation an average of $3,500 to clean up a single meth lab, Woodward said. "
