[Charter-Com] Repost: Can we legally put this in the Charter?

[Tony Becker]

This message was originally sent to the Charter Commission outside of the listserv.  It has been forwarded to the list so that the list's archive is more complete.  The original sender was Phil Amato.

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Phil Amato" <pamato at arnoldmo.org>
To: "Wegmann Law Firm" <weglaw at mindspring.com>, pamato at arnoldmo.org, mikem4 at sbcglobal.net, mturley at lewisrice.com, lssfcd at umsl.edu, paulreinheimer at charter.net, fanagn at aol.com, gail at tknetonline.com, "m edward williams" <m.edward.williams at courts.mo.gov>, good at thurmanlaw.com, candiruwho at aol.com, awbecker at custom-ins.com, dht at wegmannlaw.com, "sean king" <sean.king at edwardjones.com>, dodsonlaw at aol.com, vpresnell at cecstl.org, bwvalle at sbcglobal.net
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 12:25:18 PM (GMT-0600) America/Chicago
Subject: Can we legally put this in the Charter?

As stated in previous meetings, my understanding is that this Charter is pretty open ended.  I had been contemplating an item that could be put in the Charter that could effect everyday people and be important to law enforcement.  Since all of us are concerned about crime and drugs in schools, that is what placated this thought process.  Sunday I went to a pancake breakfast sponsored by the Food Pantry.  A legislator approached me to discuss my thoughts on the Charter.  There was a good exchange and I received important information regarding how Jeff City works in conjunction with a County Commission.  To the point, the reason for this email, I asked this legislator that has a background in law enforcement, his opinion on a solution for crime prevention, especially the meth problem in Jefferson County.  He suggested an electronic data base for Sudafed purchases in our county.  He went on to explain that there is a Bill being introduced in the legislature in this regard but he was not very optimistic for its passage.  The Pharmaceutical Lobby will in his opinion, do its utmost to block this legislation.  The plain simple fact is they want to sell over the counter medications.  Presently in our county, retailers that sell this over the counter medication, must keep a running log of who is making the purchase.  This is a key ingredient in the making of math.  Law enforcement officers have to go in the store that disburses this medication and physically look at the logs and in most cases they are not allowed to take the logs out of the store.  An electronic central data base would allow these records to come into the Sheriff's Department so drug enforcement personnel can see if there is frequent purchases by any individuals which obviously could be used in the making of meth.  My opinion is, if this is legally and acceptable item to be included in the Charter, it could be a great opportunity to demonstrate to all the city's and to the sheriff's dept. that Charter Government could help in the fight against Meth.  A press release concerning this matter could be our second in gathering support from the electorate.  Please give me your thoughts.

Phil Amato