Concerned citizen goes town to town trying to get meth off the streets

BROKEN ARROW, Okla - Meth lab discoveries in Tulsa reached record highs last year and while tougher legislation failed to pass statewide, others are taking measures into their own hands.

David Starkey is on a mission. He a concerned citizen, going town to town, talking to city leaders about passing local ordinances to restrict pseudoephedrine sales. It's a key ingredient in the making meth. His ordinance would require a prescription for the dry tablets.  Gel capsules would still be available over the counter. This way people can still get allergy medicine but it's not as easily accessible to meth makers.

"We've got an opportunity to wipe out this meth," Starkey says.

A statewide measure to restrict the sale of pseudoephedrine made it to the House floor last March, but opponents said it would be too costly to require prescriptions for these over the counter drugs.

At a recent Tulsa City Council meeting, District Attorney Tim Harris warned that Tulsa's reputation for meth labs could be destroying its economic future. He says the city needs a similar ordinance.

"I'm telling you I put my career on the line when I say this will change the face of law enforcement in Tulsa and the state of Oklahoma more than any other sweeping legislative act that we could anticipate," Harris says.

He added that other states enacting similar legislation have seen a dramatic drop in meth related crimes.

Holdenville was the first Oklahoma town to pass the ordinance last week. Starkey says it's a small victory that's sparking interest from other cities.

"If you don't want the meth dealers coming to your town, you need to get a hold of me too and to get it passed. Let's push them clean out of the state," he says.

Starsky talked to officials in Broken Arrow Thursday and recently spoke to those in Claremore. He hopes more towns will take action.