FRANKFORT — State Sen. Tom Jensen, R-London, pre-filed a bill Friday to require prescriptions for products containing pseudoephedrine, a common cold and allergy remedy but also a critical ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
Jensen filed a similar bill in the 2011 General Assembly, but it encountered substantial opposition from retailers, drug companies and those who feared it would unfairly penalize legitimate cold and allergy sufferers. Jensen’s latest effort attempts to allay at least some of those concerns.
Supporters of Jensen’s approach say it will drastically reduce the number of home-made meth labs which produce toxic waste and can explode or cause fires. Children have died from ingesting ingredients used in the lab and several law enforcement officers have been seriously injured while investigating or trying to clean up meth labs. Jensen and others point to states such as Mississippi and Oregon which have implemented similar legislation and seen the number of meth labs decrease although it hasn’t substantially decreased the use of meth.
“Everything’s gotten worse since we didn’t address these issues last year,” Jensen said. The new bill “is pretty much identical to a bill filed in the House” by Rep. Linda Belcher, D-Shepherdsville.
Jensen’s bill would make pseudoephedrine and ephedrine legend drugs which require a prescription, but it does not classify them as controlled substances like narcotics. But it specifically says any drug which cannot be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine would not be included, the same as the current law does.
The latest version of the bill addresses another concern of some lawmakers, that legitimate users of the drug by cold or allergy sufferers who purchase the drug outside of Kentucky could be innocently ensnared by the new law. Jensen inserted a passage in the new bill which would allow those people to be in possession of the cold remedies.
It also moves the tracking of sales of the drugs to the Kentucky All-Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER) system. Right now, ephedrine sales are tracked by a separate system. Like a competing bill filed by Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, in the House, it limits to 7.5 grams every 30 days the amount that can be prescribed for or purchased by an individual. But Yonts’ bill would not require a prescription, instead calling for better tracking of sales and barring sales to those previously convicted of drug crimes. He and those who favor his approach say his bill would “punish the criminals,” but not inconvenience cold and allergy sufferers. But critics, including many prosecutors and the Kentucky State Police, say it would do little or nothing to prevent “smurfing,” paying others to buy pseudoephedrine products on behalf of the meth manufacturer.
Jensen said without a prescription requirement there isn’t much way to reduce the number of dangerous meth labs. It may not prevent meth addiction, but it will save lives and money.
“That’s what this bill is all about,” Jensen said. “It’s a way to get rid of the labs and save the state $3 million it costs to clean them up.”
Cleanup of sites where an active meth lab usually costs about $2,500 for each individual lab.
The growing drug abuse in Kentucky will likely be a major legislative concern in the 2012 General Assembly. In addition to the competing methamphetamine bills, lawmakers also are talking about trying to do something about prescription pain-killer abuse. House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, has been critical of the Kentucky Medical Licensure Board for what he sees as a lack of discipline of physicians who over-prescribe the drugs and has said he expects a comprehensive drug bill to be introduced in 2012.
At a meeting of the Penal Code Task Force Friday, one of the group’s members Tom Handy, a former Commonwealth Attorney from London, said he’d like to see the legislature require owners of “pill mills” to be licensed and to bar convicted felons from owning such clinics.
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.
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