Meth production in Kentucky reached an all-time high last year, with 716 labs discovered. Some were found in the back seats of private vehicles while others were found dangerously close to schools.

The upward trend is disturbing because authorities thought they had stemmed the time by limiting access to pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines needed to make meth. The last record for meth labs was set in 2004, when 600 were found.

But what if there was a way to stem the meth tide permanently? Instead of more than 700, what if police could only find about 10 labs statewide in a year? Wouldn’t that put a stop to a scourge that is destroying people’s lives on a daily basis and spreading fear throughout our communities?

Those outcomes are within reach if Kentucky lawmakers have to gumption to pass a law requiring consumers to get a prescription to buy cold and allergy pills containing pseudoephedrine.

Kentucky, which ranks third nationally in meth labs discovered, passed a law in 2005 requiring consumers to buy pseudoephedrine tablets at pharmacy counters.

The state also has a real-time electronic system, called MethCheck, to track sales of the drug. Pharmacists use it as a log and to block sales to people who buy large quantities of Sudafed, Claritin-D or similar medications.

MethCheck stemmed meth production in the state for several years, but like many weapons in the war on drugs, determined users have found ways around the restrictions.

Meth cookers have started using groups of people to buy cold and allergy pills, so none of them goes over the limit.

They also leave Kentucky to buy pseudoephedrine in nearby states that don’t track the sale of the drug. None of the states bordering Kentucky has a system comparable to MethCheck.

With the increase in meth labs here and across the country, police agencies and policy makers are considering ways to stem the tide again.

One recommendation from a national alliance is that every state should have a system, like Kentucky, to track pseudoephedrine sales. Since MethCheck went statewide in 2008, pharmacists have used it to block 20,000 attempts to buy more than the limit, according to a story last summer in the Herald-Leader.

But the most sure-fire way to put a crimp in the meth scourge is to follow Oregon’s example and require consumers to have a prescription to buy products containing pseudoephedrine.

In 2003, authorities in Oregon discovered 473 meth labs. Last year, the figure was just 10.

Just imagine the benefits to our society if we could reduce meth production in Kentucky by that amount. Perhaps it would spare another child from suffering a horrible death by consuming meth ingredients, like a little Wayne County toddler did last year.

Of course, requiring people to get a prescription for their cold and allergy medications has raised concerns about the cost and inconvenience it would place on consumers, doctors and pharmacists.

But in Oregon, complaints about the new law have been few.

The Kentucky Narcotics Officers Association last month called for a prescription law and is helping to draft a bill to be considered by the state legislature.

Now that MetCheck has been bypassed, the law is the next logical step to curb the increase in meth production, and the collateral damage, in our state.