DENVER -- Lawmakers want to add two new weapons in the state's war against illegal methamphetamine labs to make it easier to arrest people who buy or possess the chemicals used to make the drug.

Standing in front of a conference table covered with beakers and chemicals, Gov. Bill Owens said it is far too easy to make the drugs at home.

"We're dealing with a drug that can be made and created literally within the four walls of a surburban home," Owens said.

Every pound of methamphetamine produces 5 pounds of hazardous waste that can explode or pollute groundwater. Last month, an apartment in Adams County caught fire when the vapors ignited. In October, an apartment complex in Castle Rock was evacuated after a lab was found there.

"We've reached it down to another level so we can get at it before it actually turns into a functioning lab and puts everyone at peril," Adams County district attorney Bob Grant said.

The number of labs shut down statewide has soared from 31 in 1998 to 264 last year. Authorities expect that number to hit 450 this year.

Police figure that for every lab they bust, there are 10 others that they don't know about.

"How many are we not finding, and how many children and citizens are at risk because of what's going on right now in Colorado?" Owens said.

"The production of methamphetamine has become a law enforcement crisis in Colorado. I am concerned about the public safety of our state's citizens in the event that a meth lab explodes, or waste from one of these labs gets dumped in one of our neighborhoods," said Owens.

A bill to be introduced next month by Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, and Rep. Richard Decker, R-El Paso, would make it a felony to possess the precursor chemicals, including popular cold medications like Sudafed, with the intent to make drugs.

Currently, if a police officer pulls over a motorist and finds an unusual amount of chemicals used to make the drug, that person cannot be charged with possession.

Another bill by Rep. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, and Sen. Ken Arnold, R-Broomfield, would make it a felony to possess chemicals like lithium found in batteries or beakers with intent to produce the drugs.

Owens also said he is proposing $1 million in his budget to help law enforcement deal with the burgeoning problem.

Decker said he tried and failed to get support for a bill that would make it illegal to buy more than two boxes of cold medication, as other states have done.

"Why? Because it's legal," Decker said.

Decker said some stores like Wal-Mart have imposed their own two-box limits.

Grant said there are no plans to go after people who buy cold medicine. He said the new law would give authorities the power to prevent labs from being set up, and make it easier to crack down on illegal drug manufacturers by lowering the requirement for proof.

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