It’s not a solution, but it is being called “another step” toward curbing methamphetamine production in Indiana.
Indiana Senate Bill 80 and its companion legislation, Senate Bill 161, were passed through the Corrections and Criminal Law Committee last week. SB 80 allows pharmacists to refuse the sale of cold medicines containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine to people based on the pharmacist’s professional judgment, while SB 161 requires those with a drug-related felony to obtain a prescription for any cold medicines containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. Those with convictions would be placed on the National Precursor Log Exchange, or NPLEx, and if they attempted to make a purchase without a prescription, a stop sale notice would be issued.
State Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, who chairs the Corrections and Criminal Law Committee, says he expects both pieces of legislation to be approved by both the Indiana Senate and the Indiana House, based on the widespread support of the bills.
“It is again another step in the fight against meth,” Steele said.
The ephedrine and pseudoephedrine found in cold medications are a key ingredient in making meth — a highly addictive and powerful stimulant made illegally in home laboratories. In 2013, Indiana led the nation in meth lab seizures.
Steele authored the first bill ever meant to derail the production of meth, but for a long time, he killed all plans that would require people to obtain a prescription to purchase cold medicines that contain ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. After discussing the growth of meth lab incidences throughout Indiana with law enforcement officers and prosecutors, however, he said he realized he was wrong and began pushing for prescription requirements.
“But people still don’t want to make law-abiding citizens jump through hoops to get a prescription for cold medicine,” Steele said. “And I understand that.”
Many are calling the current pieces of legislation a “compromise” that wouldn’t punish law-abiding people but would help to curb the production of meth in the Hoosier state.
And it seems to work. Fulton County adopted a similar policy in June under which all six pharmacies verify that the requesting customer had a legitimate medical use for the medication. The policy was based on a similar Arkansas state law. According to an article published in the Indianapolis Star, sales of pseudoephedrine dropped 50 percent in Fulton County once the policy was put into practice in June.
“This isn’t going to be a cure-all, but it will help,” Steele said.
That it would not likely fix the meth problem was a point made by an undercover narcotics officer who works throughout south-central Indiana, including Morgan, Monroe, Lawrence and Greene counties, when contacted by the Times-Mail last week. Because of the nature of his job, the newspaper is not revealing his name or the agency for which he works.
“I am not personally a supporter of punishing the good for the bad,” he said. “I believe that making pseudoephedrine a Schedule drug would do this. ... Needing a prescription for pseudoephedrine would reduce the amount of methamphetamine laboratories, but it would not affect the underlying meth problem in Indiana.
“I compare this to outlawing Budweiser and assuming it will fix all alcohol-related crimes. A meth user will continue to find methamphetamine, regardless of pseudoephedrine-related legislation.”
The officer believes the focus needs to turn toward supporting drug investigations. He said that in the past two weeks alone, he has seized more than 800 grams of crystal meth. He said that since it would take 200-400 labs to produce that quantity of the drug, it’s obvious the biggest problem law enforcement is facing is the Mexican cartel lines supplying the Midwest with illegal drugs.
“A law giving a pharmacist the ability to refuse the sale of pseudoephedrine would be a minor bump in the road,” he said. “(We know) a meth cook who got turned down at CVS isn’t going to say, ‘Darn, I guess I won’t use meth today.’ Instead, they’ll go to ... every other pharmacy until they’re allowed to purchase. ...
“No matter what ‘pseudoephedrine bills’ are passed, it is a far cry from fixing the major methamphetamine problem in the area,” the narcotics officer said.
Steele conceded the point, and compared the meth battle to a balloon, saying if you push on one side, then the other side pops out.
“People have got to understand we’re never going to solve this problem,” Steele said. “As soon as we crack down on meth, heroin pops up and crystal meth is shipped in from Mexico. My point in combating home-cooked meth is, if we can reduce the amount of labs, then we know it’s not being cooked in homes where little kids are subjected to its toxic fumes.
“We know they’re going to find a way. You can pass all the laws you want, but people will find a way to make this stuff. We’re just putting our fingers in a dike up here, and that’s all we can do. It’s a strong addiction, and these people are always going to stay a step ahead of you.”