(Oklahoma City-AP) - A bill passed Tuesday by a state House committee would make it tougher to buy pseudoephedrine.

The bill is aimed at curbing methamphetamine use in the state. Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant common in cold tablets, but it's also the main ingredient in methamphetamine. The bill would require customers to show photo ID and a signature before they could buy medicine containing pseudoephedrine.

It would also make the decongestant a regulated substance that could only be sold by a licensed pharmacist. And it would limit the amount of pseudoephedrine a person could have at one time to nine grams, or about 10 boxes.

The bill is being named after a highway patrol trooper killed while checking on a car believed to contain a mobile meth lab.

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Fast Facts About Meth

• Methamphetamine use among high school seniors more than doubled between 1990 and 1996.

• Women are more likely to use meth than cocaine.

• The average meth "cook" annually teaches ten others how to make meth.

• Every pound of meth produced leaves behind five to six pounds of toxic waste.

• Seizures of clandestine meth labs in the Midwest increased tenfold from 1995 to 1997.

• Methamphetamine accounts for up to 90 percent of all drug cases in many Midwest communities.

• Methamphetamine kills by causing heart failure, brain damage and stroke.

• Methamphetamine-induced paranoia has led to numerous murders and suicides.

• Methamphetamine produces hallucinations.

• Meth users are the hardest to treat of all drug users.

• Meth lab site cleanups can cost up to $150,000.

• Methamphetamine is highly addictive.

• Meth use increases risk of child abuse and neglect and domestic violence.

Many people may be unaware that they're living near a meth lab. Here are some things to look for:

• Unusual, strong odors (like cat urine, ether, ammonia, acetone or other chemicals).
  
• Residences with windows blacked out.
  
• Renters who pay their landlords in cash. (Most drug dealers trade exclusively in cash.)
  
• Lots of traffic - people coming and going at unusual times.
  
• There may be little traffic during the day, but at night the activity increases dramatically.
  
• Excessive trash including large amounts of items such as: antifreeze containers, lantern fuel cans, red chemically stained coffee filters, drain cleaner and duct tape.
  
• Unusual amounts of clear glass containers being brought into the home.

Presence of the following items could indicate the existence of a meth lab:

• Alcohol
  
• Ether
  
• Benzene
  
• Toluene/Paint Thinner
  
• Freon
  
• Acetone
  
• Chloroform
  
• Camp Stove Fuel/Coleman Fuel
  
• Starting Fluid
  
• Anhydrous Ammonia
  "Heet"
  
• White Gasoline
  
• Phenyl-2-Propane
  
• Phenylacetone
  
• Phenylpropanolamine
  
• odine Crystals
  
• Red Phosphorous
  
• Black Iodine
  
• Lye (Red Devil Lye)
  
• Muriatic/Hydrochloric Acid
  
• Battery Acid/Sulfuric Acid
  
• Epsom Salts
  
• Batteries/Lithium
  
• Sodium Metal
  
• Wooden Matches
  
• Propane Cylinders
  
• Hot Plates
  
• Ephedrine (over-the-counter)
  
• Cold Tablets
  
• Bronchodialators
  
• Energy Boosters
  
• Rock Salt
  
• Diet Aids

Source: www.kci.org [Koch Crime Institute]