Rep. Steve Vaughan to File Bill to Make Access to Cold Medication More Difficult

Press release:

OKLAHOMA CITY - To better target individuals involved in methamphetamine production, state Rep. Steve Vaughan plans to file legislation that would further restrict pseudoephedrine sales to suspected meth cooks.

"While we clearly have a problem with meth production in Oklahoma, I do not think it makes sense to require law-abiding citizens to get a prescription for over-the-counter allergy medicine," said Vaughan, R-Ponca City. "However, I do think we can better restrict sales to those actually involved in meth production."

Under current law, outlets selling medicine containing pseudoephedrine are required to report the name, address and amount of product purchased by every individual to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Control through a computerized program.

Existing state and federal laws restrict individuals to purchasing no more than nine grams of pseudoephedrine per month. Federal law also restricts sales to no more than 3.6 grams per day.

If a person attempts to purchase more than those amounts, the state's computer program flags the sale, blocking it.

Under Vaughan's proposed legislation, anyone attempting to purchase more than the legal limit would then be prevented from purchasing any more pseudoephedrine for at least another 72 hours.

"My legislation clearly targets individuals who appear to be attempting to circumvent the law to produce meth. That alone will reduce meth production," Vaughan said. "At the same time, law-abiding citizens would still be free to purchase allergy medicine without a prescription."

Vaughan said the idea for his legislation came from Mike Carter, chief of police for the City of Sand Springs. Carter was one of several presenters at a recent House-Senate joint study of meth issues. At those meetings, lawmakers heard testimony from law enforcement officials, pharmaceutical representatives, pharmacists, and even a former meth cook.

"I believe state policy should target lawbreakers and not law-abiding citizens," Vaughan said. "This legislation will accomplish that goal while also deterring meth production."

Vaughan plans to file his bill before the February 2012 start of the next legislative session.

In reality, all this measure will accomplish is creating an even more lucrative black market for methamphetamine and its precursors for production. The more difficult it is to get something, the more the price must go up to cover the risk. Such a disparity resulting in an elevated profit margin makes it attractive to many people to enter the black market, especially in a time where jobs are hard to come by in some areas.

Remember, the laws restricting access to one of the most effective cold medications available (pseudoephedrine) got their start through lobbying by one of the largest producers (Boehringer-Ingelheim) of a competing drug (phenylephrine) - 2006 Annual Report attached below.

So while the cold medication that some people use to produce methamphetamine in their house becomes heavily regulated to the point where the medication is no longer marketable, thus opening the door for an arguably inferior product to take over the market, methamphetamine that is free from contaminants caused by the negligence of amateur producers is available by prescription (FDA-approved for children) as long as it is produced by Ovation Pharmaceuticals.

Rep. Vaughan's proposed bill only further inferferes with the free market by punishing law-abiding citizens through restriction of access to effective medication and encourages further expansion of the black market for meth through increased potential for profits.