Councilman Dave Siebert and Councilman Tom Simplot Arizona Republic Letter to the Editor
New Phoenix Meth Ordinances
Two new Phoenix ordinances take effect next week, with the goal of keeping our children, neighborhoods, police officers and firefighters safer. The ordinances regulate the sale of certain cold medications, used by criminals to produce this generation’s most dangerous and deadly drug – crystal methamphetamine.
Starting on Tuesday, Dec. 6, the new ordinances will require stores to keep cold medications containing the ingredients pseudoephedrine and ephedrine off the shelves, selling them from the pharmacy or behind the register instead. Another change is that customers will have to show photo identification to purchase these medications and fill out log sheets with personal information. Stores will forward the log sheets to police.
Though these new steps may be a minor inconvenience for all of us, the gains we will see are worth it. Similar measures have cut down on meth labs in places like Oklahoma. We believe a better solution to this problem is a stricter state law. But until that is passed, Phoenix and other Arizona cities are taking these proactive steps to protect our communities.
You can find much more information on the ordinances by visiting phoenix.gov/meth.
The measures followed summer meetings of the Crystal Meth Task Force, which we chaired. We want to thank the community leaders who helped provide valuable insight, with a special thanks to Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who has been a strong voice on this issue.
And we want to thank you for understanding the critical need for these actions. Sometimes the only way to curtail a widespread, dangerous problem is to take a strong stance. That is what Phoenix and other cities are doing. These new measures will save lives, which make them an important tool for protecting our community.
Councilman Dave Siebert and Councilman Tom Simplot chair the city's Crystal Meth Task Force.
