S 103, by Sens. Jim Talent, R-Mo., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would move medications containing pseudoephedrine behind store counters. Purchasers could buy only about 250 pills a month, and would have to show photo identification and sign for the medicine. The bill is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A national standard for cold-pill sales makes sense because meth has spread nationwide. Federal Drug Enforcement Agency numbers on meth lab incidents -- illegal labs, dump sites, chemicals and equipment -- show the progression: In 1999, California had 2,579 such incidents, far more than any other state. In 2004, California had only 753, while five Midwestern states each had more than 1,000. At the same time, most of that activity derives from small operations. California remains the hub of mass-producing meth superlabs.

Forty-five county and state governments already limit counter access to chemicals required to make the drug, an addictive chemical brew that can cause hallucinations, paranoia and aggressive behavior. And many chain stores, including Target and Wal-Mart, already restrict products with pseudoephedrine.

If these precautions seem extreme, remember that stores lock up cigarettes and require identification to purchase tobacco or alcohol. And pharmacy customers routinely sign for prescription medication.

The new rules would be mildly inconvenient, but evidence suggests that such steps help slow meth production. The federal bill is patterned after a law in Oklahoma, which officials there say has reduced meth lab seizures by 80 percent since it took effect in April 2004.

This bill would not stop the drug's manufacture; the illegal trade is too profitable. But the new rules could make it tougher to concoct a pestilent social and environmental menace. That is worth the tradeoff required from consumers enduring colds.