Thursday, July 03, 2014

Tennessee sets stricter limits on pseudoephedrine

Tennessee has made it tougher to purchase over-the-counter drugs used to make methamphetamine. This week a new law went into effect putting a cap on purchases of pseudoephedrine without a doctor's prescription to 5.8 grams per month and 28.8 grams per year, which "is about five months' worth of the maximum dose of Sudafed," the most common brand of the product, Briona Arradondo reports for WTVC in Chattanooga. Last year state authorities busted 1,700 meth labs and removed 260 children from meth-related situations.

The Senate and Republican Gov. Bill Haslam had supported lowering amounts to 4.8 grams per month and 14.4 grams per year, but the House favored the higher limits, which are still much lower than previous laws, which permitted purchasing 9 grams of pseudoephedrine per month. The legislature is controlled by Republicans; some in the Senate asked Haslam to veto the bill. He let it linger for months before letting it become law. (Read more)

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