In the latest effort to combat methamphetamine production some Kentucky, state lawmakers and law enforcement officials are pushing to make pseudoephedrine, the key component of the drug, available only with a prescription. "Opponents, including the pharmaceutical industry, argue that making pseudoephedrine a controlled drug will simply make it harder for legitimate users to obtain it, while potentially driving up prescription fraud," Jessie Halladay of the Courier-Journal reports. Kentucky currently maintains an electronic registry of pseudoephedrine purchases.
Advocates of the prescription-only approach point to states like Oregon where similar policies suggest stricter regulation works. "We have a legal drug that can be created into an illegal drug very easily," Dr. Praveen Arla, who works in a family practice in Bullitt County, told Halladay. "I'm surprised that it's not scheduled because of that already. The potential harm to society that can come from this legal drug is pretty scary." Two bills that would have made pseudoephedrine prescription-only died during Kentucky's last General Assembly session, but the issue is expected to come up again in 2011.
Supporters say a September endorsement from the Kentucky Medical Association has increased the chances of passing the prescription requirement. "It's an inconvenience to a lot of patients," Dr. Preston Nunnelley, a KMA member from Lexington, acknowledged. But he noted "the inconvenience can be outweighed by the benefit to public health." Law enforcement officials hope the stricter regulation of pseudoephedrine would help curb the growing number of meth labs. Kentucky authorities have recovered 810 labs already in 2010, compared to 741 for all of 2009. (Read more)
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