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THE EDUCATOR - Summer 2005

Anti-Meth Bill Revised for Retailers

By Sam Hananel (The Associated Press)

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers seeking to restrict over-the-counter access to cold medicines used to make methamphetamine presented a revised bill Tuesday that would soften the impact on some retailers that lack a pharmacy.

The measure originally required all stores to sell Sudafed, Nyquil and other medicines containing pseudoephedrine only from behind the pharmacy counter. In makeshift labs across the country, the ingredient is extracted and used to cook meth.

Pressed by retailers concerned about losing sales, lawmakers said they carved out an exception for stores without a pharmacist on duty, such as convenience stores and some grocery chains.

Under the new version, states have the option of working with the Drug Enforcement Administration to license certain employees who are not pharmacists to sell the medicines.

Consumers would have to show a photo ID, sign a log, and be limited to 7.5 grams _ or about 250 30-milligram pills _ in a 30-day period. Computer tracking would prevent customers from exceeding the limit at other stores.

"One of the things we wanted to do is make certain legitimate consumers who have allergy or other problems can have access to the cold medicines they need," said Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., who sponsored the bill with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

The bill is modeled after an Oklahoma law that took effect last year and has been credited with an 80 percent drop in the number of meth labs seized there. More than a dozen states have enacted similar laws.

Retailers initially resisted the idea of restricting cold medicines, saying it would inconvenience consumers. Now, they seem ready to go along with a federal law in hopes of avoiding a tangle of state regulations. Stores like Wal-Mart and Safeway and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores said Tuesday they have agreed to support the legislation.

A Senate committee plans hearings on the bill this week, and the measure may be ready for a vote in the full Senate next month. Similar legislation is pending in the House.

Feinstein, who has worked to combat meth abuse for a decade, said the measure would dry up the supply of methamphetamine. Other lawmakers stressed the need to stem the problem before it grows even worse.

"We're at the same place now with meth as we were with crack 20 years ago," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a co-sponsor of the bill.

Other changes to the revised anti-meth bill would:

Create an exception for stores at airports to sell cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine in single packages.
Fund a national meth treatment center to research treatments for meth abuse.
Provide $25 million for local law enforcement and federal prosecutors to target meth manufacturers and dealers.