When I had a cold recently, there weren't any boxes of Sudafed and other cold medications at the store I stopped at. I had to take a piece of cardboard to the pharmacist to purchase it.

Yes, it was a pain, but if this was required in all drug stores (not just something done voluntarily like the one I was at), it could be an important step in stopping the spread of methamphetamine addiction.

This is examined Tuesday on most PBS stations where Frontline is airing The Meth Epidemic. The entire program will be available online later this week.

It is a co-production with the Oregonian which has done extensive coverage of the problem. Oregon Public Broadcasting also has a companion site.

They reveal this could have happened twenty years ago. Gene Haislip who was number three in the DEA under Reagan had used similar measures to stop the problem with Qualudes. But cold medicine made a lot more money and drug companies stopped his proposals then and have stopped most attempts since then.

This may be starting to change. Republicans in states hit by the meth epidemic are critical of the Bush administration in the documentary for going along with the drug industry and downplaying the problem with meth.

While the focus is on public policy, there are also the stories of people who have been addicted to meth. Hopefully, enough people will watch and take action so there really is some change.