Bill Targets Valley And Mother Lode Meth Labs

Part of a legislative package aimed at attacking methamphetamine production has cleared the California Assembly.

Assembly bill 465, part of Assemblyman Dave Cogdill´s Meth-Free Communities legislative package, would combat production of the drug by limiting the sale of iodine, a major ingredient used in methamphetamine manufacturing.

Cogdill, a Modesto Republican whose district includes Calaveras County, said despite law enforcement´s efforts to shut down meth labs and arrest dealers, the drug continues to plague the Central Valley and rural California in general.

Existing law limits the sale of iodine crystals, but the regulations do not apply to the sale of iodine tincture or other liquid solutions containing iodine.

As a result, people can easily buy large quantities of those solutions, which then can be converted to iodine crystals and used to manufacture methamphetamine.

According to Cogdill, farm feed stored throughout California have reported a jump in the sale of iodine tincture since restrictions on the sale of iodine crystals took effect.