Right or wrong, Indiana lawmakers decided in 2005 to limit and track the sales of decongestants, which have a key ingredient used in making methamphetamine. State criminal justice officials are right to now make a significant step toward using the law to help curb meth manufacturing while preventing innocent cold and allergy sufferers from being punished.

While a new initiative to move purchase records of the decongestants from paper to computer is a welcome effort to take full advantage of the law, no one should think that step alone will end meth use and making.

Meth is often homemade and contains a witch’s brew of various caustic chemicals. A main component is pseudoephedrine, which is the active ingredient in Sudafed and other decongestants. Versions of popular antihistamines that are combined with decongestants – such as Claritin D or Zyrtec D and their generic equivalents – also contain it.

Lawmakers adopted a law to require pharmacists to record the identification of buyers in an effort to prevent meth makers from going into stores and buying mass quantities of the drug. But because the purchase records are on paper, the records are more of a time-consuming way for law enforcement officials to prove cases against specific individuals than to flag and stop new purchases.

Consumers are limited to buying no more than 3 grams of pseudoephedrine in a week, or about 25 120-milligram pills, more than enough for personal use. But, as Rebecca Green reported in October, people with allergies who legitimately might buy a little extra to stock up can mistakenly run afoul of the law and even be charged with a misdemeanor.

Now, armed with a $200,000 federal grant, Indiana State Police have launched the Indiana Meth Intelligence System. It will maintain a database that would include, among other records, the decongestant purchases. Rather than be a burden for pharmacies, moving from paper to digital records will make sales more efficient. And the system can easily red-flag excessive sales.

At the same time, as Angela Mapes Turner reported Sunday, police believe they can fine-tune the database to screen out people who legitimately buy the over-the-counter medicine for colds or allergies.

Records of arrests and meth-lab busts indicate that the 2005 law was initially quite effective, curbing meth making. But the makers and sellers began to find ways around the law, including making smaller purchases at more pharmacies. The new computer system should help curb that practice.

At the same time, Hoosiers shouldn’t be surprised if the meth heads find new ways to avoid the database. Still, the computer network should help authorities use the law to its potential, and it can be an effective tool – especially if combined with stepped-up education efforts that graphically explain the vile contents of meth and the undeniable ways it hurts users.