My Good Friend, Steve Pence, Joins Kentucky Chamber Of Commerce In Opposing Prescriptions For Over The Counter Cold Medicines. I Join Them!
State chamber to oppose prescription requirement for methamphetamine ingredient
By Jessie Halladay
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce said Thursday it opposes efforts to require a prescription to buy certain over-the-counter cold medicines.
The announcement came in response to two pending proposals — Senate Bill 45 and House Bill 15 — that would require a prescription for any medicine containing pseudoephedrine, the primary ingredient used in making methamphetamine.
“We recognize that methamphetamine abuse is a serious problem,” said Bryan Sunderland, vice president of the chamber. But opponents of the measures believe that requiring a prescription would place an undue burden on patients, since they would have to pay for doctor visits.
Instead, opponents say, the state should continue to rely on electronic tracking of pseudoephedrine sales.
Sunderland announced the chamber’s opposition on a press call, where he was joined by several other people including law enforcement officials, a doctor, a pharmacist and former Lt. Gov. Steve Pence.
A hearing on the prescription issue is scheduled for Feb. 3 in Frankfort before the state Senate Judiciary Committee. U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset, has come out in support of the requirement and is expected to testify.
Currently, a patient can buy only 9 grams within a 30-day period and must sign a log book in order to get the medication, which is kept behind the pharmacy counter.
Supporters of requiring prescriptions argue that restricting access to pseudoephedrine is the only way to prevent the rise of meth labs that Kentucky has seen over the past few years, logging nearly 1,100 in 2010.
Two states — Oregon and Mississippi — have passed laws requiring a prescription and have logged drastic decreases in the number of meth labs. Mississippi enacted the law in July, and early reports estimate a drop of as much as 65 percent.
“It’s a no brainer. It works,” said Tommy Loving, director of the Bowling Green/Warren County Drug Task Force and the executive director of the Kentucky Narcotics Officers Association.
But Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain said he doesn’t believe a prescription law can help Kentucky. Eliminating the electronic tracking system now in use would make it harder for police to find clandestine labs, he said.
“It’s a simplistic solution for a complex problem and it won’t work,” Cain said.
Last year a similar effort to change Kentucky law failed, but supporters say they have some momentum this year. Several groups, including the Kentucky Medical Association, the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, individual law enforcement agencies and others have signed on in support of the legislation.
Earlier this month, Rogers issued an editorial urging the change, motivated he said by the death in Wayne County of 22-month-old Kayden Branham. The toddler died after drinking corrosive drain cleaner that had been used in making meth.
Rogers said millions of dollars could be saved in Kentucky each year in enforcement, prosecution, incarceration and environmental cleanup if the number of meth labs could be reduced.
By Jessie Halladay
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce said Thursday it opposes efforts to require a prescription to buy certain over-the-counter cold medicines.
The announcement came in response to two pending proposals — Senate Bill 45 and House Bill 15 — that would require a prescription for any medicine containing pseudoephedrine, the primary ingredient used in making methamphetamine.
“We recognize that methamphetamine abuse is a serious problem,” said Bryan Sunderland, vice president of the chamber. But opponents of the measures believe that requiring a prescription would place an undue burden on patients, since they would have to pay for doctor visits.
Instead, opponents say, the state should continue to rely on electronic tracking of pseudoephedrine sales.
Sunderland announced the chamber’s opposition on a press call, where he was joined by several other people including law enforcement officials, a doctor, a pharmacist and former Lt. Gov. Steve Pence.
A hearing on the prescription issue is scheduled for Feb. 3 in Frankfort before the state Senate Judiciary Committee. U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset, has come out in support of the requirement and is expected to testify.
Currently, a patient can buy only 9 grams within a 30-day period and must sign a log book in order to get the medication, which is kept behind the pharmacy counter.
Supporters of requiring prescriptions argue that restricting access to pseudoephedrine is the only way to prevent the rise of meth labs that Kentucky has seen over the past few years, logging nearly 1,100 in 2010.
Two states — Oregon and Mississippi — have passed laws requiring a prescription and have logged drastic decreases in the number of meth labs. Mississippi enacted the law in July, and early reports estimate a drop of as much as 65 percent.
“It’s a no brainer. It works,” said Tommy Loving, director of the Bowling Green/Warren County Drug Task Force and the executive director of the Kentucky Narcotics Officers Association.
But Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain said he doesn’t believe a prescription law can help Kentucky. Eliminating the electronic tracking system now in use would make it harder for police to find clandestine labs, he said.
“It’s a simplistic solution for a complex problem and it won’t work,” Cain said.
Last year a similar effort to change Kentucky law failed, but supporters say they have some momentum this year. Several groups, including the Kentucky Medical Association, the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, individual law enforcement agencies and others have signed on in support of the legislation.
Earlier this month, Rogers issued an editorial urging the change, motivated he said by the death in Wayne County of 22-month-old Kayden Branham. The toddler died after drinking corrosive drain cleaner that had been used in making meth.
Rogers said millions of dollars could be saved in Kentucky each year in enforcement, prosecution, incarceration and environmental cleanup if the number of meth labs could be reduced.
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posted by KYJurisDoctor at 8:48 PM
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