KBIA Local
(2010-02-04)
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COLUMBIA, MO
(KBIA) -
According to the State High Patrol, Missouri again leads the nation in Meth lab seizures. There were nearly 1800 meth lab seizures last year in Missouri. Number two ranked Indiana still had 700 fewer seizures than the Show-Me state. The latest figures represent a nearly 20 percent increase in the last year. State Representative Scott Lipke is sponsoring a bill that would require people to have a prescription for pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient used to make methamphetamine. That means over the counter drugs like Sudafed and Claritin would be affected. Lipke says his legislation will help combat Missouri's meth problem.
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"I've watched this issue expand and kind of explode in our state and we took some nominal steps by putting restrictions on there all the while keeping in mind the potential inconvenience to the people of the state that have to use these types of products. In 2005 we moved it behind the counter in the pharmacy, where you have to show id, if they don't know you, you have to sign a written log and it keeps track of how much. And we've had good success for a year of two."
Lipke says that moving drugs containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter initially reduced the number of meth lab seizures by about half. However over the last several years this number has again increased to pre-2005 levels. Lipke says requiring a prescription will make it more difficult for meth users to simply go to multiple pharmacies or coerce others into buying drugs with pseudoephedrine for them. © Copyright 2012, KBIA
