Of the more than 300 inmates currently inside the Laurel County Jail, officials say probably half of them have meth related offenses on their records. John Root hasn’t been sheriff long…but already his staff has arrested a bunch of them.

“In less than one month, 30 days, we have taken down 200 individual labs. So we definitely have a problem,” said Sheriff Root.

The most recent was on Radar Ridge Rd., where police say they found 160 individual meth labs. In fact, Laurel County was among the top meth producing counties in 2010. Now some believe a new bill in the General Assembly..could be the key to at least curbing the production of the illegal drug.

“Pseudoephedrine is the key ingredient in the making of meth,” said Root.

It’s commonly found in Sudafed, Claritin D or Zyrtec D. And if Senate Bill 45 becomes law, you’d no longer be able to just walk in to your drug store and buy it.

A lot of pharmacists already keep the drug behind the counter, but if it becomes law it’s going to make it that much more difficult to get it. Basically, you’d have to go see a doctor first.

Former Lt. Governor Steve Pence says it’s wrong to make law abiding citizens suffer just to keep a legal drug out of the hands of criminals.

“The question is, are we going to allow the minority of criminals who abuse this material to direct the health care decisions of those who are using it legally?” said Pence.