The bill signed by Easley would require pharmacies to remove medicines containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine -- which can be used to make meth -- from store shelves and placed behind the counter. Buyers would be limited to purchasing two packages of such drugs per visits, and three in 30 days. They also will have to show ID, be age 18 or older, and sign a form.

"I know it's a small inconvenience to consumers," said Easley. "However, this small bit of inconvenience is a tremendous benefit to the public and law enforcement. States around us are doing this sort of similar thing, and when that happens, meth labs move into North Carolina."

Attorney General Roy Cooper said backers of the law had to "shift concern about people with sniffles to babies with brain damage," and said the state's new law was the toughest of its kind on the East Coast.

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