INDIANAPOLIS - In what was described as a "long and winding road" by the bill's author, the Indiana Senate approved changes the House made to Senate Bill 80, establishing new rules for the purchase of pseudoephedrine medication in Indiana.
After spending a week trying to iron out differences between the version of SB 80 the Senate passed and what the House approved, Sen. Randy Head, R-Logansport, decided the best course of action was to concur instead of accepting agreements reached in conference committee.
Head said the concurrence would make it a little easier for Hoosiers trying to purchase Sudafed without having a prescription or being a "patient of record" because it provides for pharmacist discretion. That discretion would allow a pharmacist to sell Sudafed to a customer if they make a professional determination the customer needs the medication for a legitimate reason.
The conference committee report did not provide for that discretion.
Head said the concurrence strikes a better balance between stopping meth labs and alleviating burdensome requirements for legitimate allergy sufferers.
“I think we’re striking at meth labs with this,” Head said.
Momentum to concur instead of passing the conference committee report picked up late Wednesday and early Thursday morning when lobbyists and other interested parties dropped their opposition to SB 80’s language.
The motion to concur passed 41-7 and is now headed to Gov. Mike Pence. Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, was one of the no votes. Tomes said he appreciated the fact that the bill didn’t require prescriptions for everyone but still felt the law set up some hardships for everyday citizens. He said he is fully supportive of Senate Bill 161, which he said focuses more on the criminal element of the meth issue.
The bill, which will now go to Pence, will change the way pseudoephedrine is purchased in Indiana for some residents. If a person is a “patient of record” at a pharmacy, which is a term that will be defined by the state board of pharmacy, they can continue to purchase Sudafed as they are now. If a customer is not a patient of record, they will be offered meth-resistant medication or a small amount of psuedoephedrine medication. A customer can also get a prescription for the medication.