Lawmakers this session have proposed legislation to aid in the treatment of Missouri’s meth problem.

Area representatives are working to make, not only Joplin, but all of Missouri a safer, less meth-friendly place to live.

“We have a tremendous meth problem,” said Rep. Bryan Stevenson (R-Joplin).

He said part of the problem is the ability for meth producers to buy mass amounts of the drugs they need. Each will go through separate checkout lines to deter any suspicion that may arise when a single person buys large quantities of certain over-the-counter medicines.

Stevenson co-sponsored House Bill 470, which would “prohibit the sale of more than six grams of an over-the-counter drug having a sole active ingredient of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine.”

These drugs would have to be stored behind the counter or within six feet of a checkout counter. Violation of this bill would be a class A misdemeanor.

“All this does is get it behind the counter and make it more difficult to steal,” Stevenson said. “It also makes it more obvious when someone is buying large quantities of it. Having the products behind the counter will also enable clerks to alert police if they notice the same people buying certain drugs, Stevenson said.

“They can then alert police so they can investigate the situation,” he said. “It won’t fix the problem, but it will help.”

Sen. Gary Nodler (R-Joplin) is working to correct problems with current laws regarding drugs such as meth.

Nodler sponsored legislation that would make the manufacturing of meth illegal within 2,000 feet of a school.

“Under the present law, there’s a loophole,” Nodler said. “The sale is illegal, but the manufacture is not. We’re trying to correct that problem.”

Senators and representatives are working together on a bill that would allocate state funding to support Missouri Sheriff Methamphetamine Relief Team.

MoSMART is made up of five appointed sheriffs.

“They go through proposals by different drug task forces across the state that ask for money to do different drug tasks,” said Jerry Dowell, chief of staff for Sen. John Cauthorn (R-Mexico).

Dowell said MoSMART is extremely efficient in that the panel only spends $130,000 of its $8 million funds on administrative costs.

The rest goes to Missouri’s drug task forces. Currently, MoSMART is funded with federal money.

Dowell said since MoSMART is such a success in Missouri, other states might want to jump on the bandwagon soon and start a similar program for their own drug problems.

This, in turn, would make the federal funding questionable. To secure appropriations for MoSMART, Cauthorn has sponsored Senate Bill 39.

A collection of representatives are working side by side to pass HB 337. Both bills, if passed, ensure Missouri’s financial future with MoSMART.