Lawmaker: State needs better control over sale of pseudoephedrine

Local News

September 25, 2011

By Kelly McKinney Register News Writer The Richmond Register Sun Sep 25, 2011, 11:00 AM EDT

RICHMOND — Less than a month ago, two children were found sleeping in a Berea apartment not five feet from a dangerous methamphetamine lab. Not long before that, a baby was found in a Richmond home where the occupants allegedly were cooking the drug.

These are just two examples of many recent meth lab finds in Madison County, and, according to Kentucky Health News, labs are being found in ever-increasing numbers all across the state.

A Kentucky legislator wants to change that.

Sen. Tom Jensen, R-London, who last year sponsored a failed bill that would have required prescriptions for pseudoephedrine-containing medications, says he plans to once again introduce legislation to try to better control the drugs’ availability, according to Kentucky Health News.

Pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in some cold and allergy medications, also is the primary ingredient in meth.

This past year, the number of meth labs found by police in Kentucky rose by 20 percent over the previous year. Police found a total of 1,100 labs in 2010, and the number is expected to exceed 1,400 this year, according to the health news service.

Locally, the number of labs has steadily risen, according to Chief David Gregory with the Berea Police Department.

“We’ve had two just in the last month, month and a half,” he said. “Just within the last year, it seems like it’s picking up again.”

When Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2005 first went into effect, meth labs decreased significantly, the chief said.

The Act required pharmacists to store pseudoephedrine-containing products behind the counter, and required them to track who purchased them. A limit on the amount each person could obtain was set.

But those intent on making meth have now found ways around this system, Gregory said. People have been known to use fake identification, or to pay a network of people to buy the drugs for them.

Proponents of a bill requiring prescriptions say the law would dramatically decrease the amount of meth manufactured in the state.

Both Oregon and Mississippi, the only two states that have such a law, have seen sharp drops in cases of the drug labs being found. Mississippi, where the legislation went into effect in 2010, has seen a 66 percent drop, according to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Oregon’s law went into effect five years ago, and the state has seen a 96 percent decrease, according to the Kentucky Health News.

Statewide, the cost of meth is in the millions, counting the expenses of corrections, local health departments dealing with health problems from the drug, clean-ups, and putting children into foster care, said Jackie Steele, commonwealth’s attorney for Laurel and Knox counties, told Kentucky Health News.

Those against a new law say any savings would be eliminated by increased health care costs because of increased doctor’s office visits. They also say passing a law here would just send the illegal drug manufacturers to surrounding states to buy pseudoephedrine.

Pharmacist Danny Biliter, who owns Bluegrass Family Pharmacy in Richmond, said he hopes the law is passed.

Trying to control who bought medications containing pseudoephedrine was always an issue in his work as a pharmacist, he said.

“Four or five people would come in at the same time, buying the medications,” he said. “Sometimes they would even all arrive in the same car.”

Requiring prescriptions would make it much easier for pharmacists to effectively monitor the sale of those medications, he said.

“It’s a tool,” the drug store owner said. “We can look online to see if they’ve reached their limit.”

Larry Brock, chief of the Richmond Police Department, agrees that the proposed legislation is needed.

While some might oppose the legislation for financial reasons, he believes the price society as a whole pays in dealing the meth trumps those concerns, he said.

“It is hard to argue with the successes (of Mississippi and Oregon) and the positive impact the laws have had in curbing meth labs,” he said. “I am confident that Kentucky would reap the same results if the law were passed here.”

Kelly McKinney can be reached at kmckinney@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.

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Lawmaker: State needs better control over sale of pseudoephedrine

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