Madigan vs. Meth Magician

By Margaret Lyons in News on Nov 24, 2004 6:34PM

Attention methamphetamine users and makers: buying your drug supplies is about to get a little harder. Lisa Madigan (secretly hot?) and drug store owners have collaborated on legislation that will go into effect January 1.

The law will limit the sale of medicine containing 15 milligrams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine to two packages per customer, and the products will be kept behind the counters. Madigan told the Sun-Times that store owners should also educate their employees about how the drugs are produced, so they'll be able to spot potential meth-makers. Er, we wouldn't teach people too much about how to make meth—this is reminding Chicagoist of how in middle school, when they tried to teach us about eating disorders, all the girls were like, "hey, sweet diet tips."

Madigan hopes that if a drug store clerks spots someone buying "cold medicine and lithium batteries and lighter fluids -- ingredients in the manufacture of methamphetamine -- hopefully they will alert local law enforcement." Ahem, Chicagoist shopping list. Madigan has even created MethNet, a clearinghouse for meth info in Illinois. Fuck the MethNet, bring back Mathnet, our favorite part of Square One. Anyone want to play What Do We Know?

So yeah, drugs are bad, mgay? But why is meth in the news today? Because Robert Steven Siverly, the self-proclaimed "Meth Magician," was convicted last Friday on a range of drug charges.

What makes Siverly especially significant to…Madigan, whose office prosecuted him, is that he was caught "smurfing" in the Chicago area…[which] means he and ring members, including his own daughter, traveled the back roads from east central Illinois to Chicago's suburbs, where they bought cold and allergy medicines used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Smurfing. Nice use of drug lingo, Sun-Times.