Health News
Pharmacists have mixed opinions about a bill that would require a prescription to purchase pseudoephedrine after a monthly or yearly limit has been reached, reports Calen McKinney for the Central Kentucky News Journal in Campbellsville. (Photo by McKinney)
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- Anti-meth Bill Passes Senate; Limits Monthly Pseudoephedrine Purchases To 7.2 Grams A Month And 24 Grams A Year
In an effort to curb methamphetamine production, the Senate passed a bill Friday that will limit the amount of pseudoephedrine that can be bought monthly and annually. Senate Bill 3, approved 25-11, will allow consumers to buy 7.2 grams of medicine containing...
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- Meds-for-meth Compromise Bill Introduced
Lawmakers said they would compromise on the idea of making pseudoephedrine available only by prescription, and they have. Senate Bill 3 would only require a prescription for medicines containing the drug after a patient has bought 3.6 grams of it per...
- As Meds-for-meth Bill Languishes, Some Seek Compromise, But Bill's Sponsor Says Proposals Would Render It Ineffective
By Al Cross and Tara Kaprowy Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues As the bill to require prescriptions for three widely used decongestants remains short of votes to pass the Senate, there is talk of a compromise measure to thwart the use...
Health News
Campbellsville pharmacists have mixed views about meds-for-meth bill; a good example of localizing a statewide issue
Pharmacists have mixed opinions about a bill that would require a prescription to purchase pseudoephedrine after a monthly or yearly limit has been reached, reports Calen McKinney for the Central Kentucky News Journal in Campbellsville. (Photo by McKinney)The drug is the key ingredient used to make methamphetamine. Last week the Senate approved a bill that would limit non-prescription individuals' purchases to 7.2 grams per month and 24 grams per year.
Tresa Phillips at Nation's Medicines in Campbellsville told McKinney she feels the system in place now ? an instant computer tracking system called MethCheck ? is working. "I'm not sure that a new law is going to make a big difference," she said, adding that a person who is buying the drug already has to show state-issued identification.
However, Jay Eastridge at Eastridge-Phelps Pharmacy applauded the move. "It sort of restricts pseudoephedrine getting into the wrong hands," he said. "I wholeheartedly support the bill." Eastridge said pharmacists have become "gatekeepers" in the face of the meth epidemic and "it's just painful to watch" people coming in "from one drug store to the next seeing what they can get."
Ed Baise of the Medicine Centre agreed that pharmacists have "become the police" when it comes to limiting pseudoephedrine. But he said the drug should be put in a class of its own and pharmacists should be responsible for controlling purchases. Baise pointed out allergy sufferers could be inconvenienced by the bill. "This may help some," he said, "but it's not gonna solve the problem." (Read more)
- 'meds For Meth' Bill Is About To Become Law Despite Heavy Lobbying Campaign By Pharmaceutical Companies
The bill to limit purchases of a popular cold medicine used to make methamphetamine passed the General Assembly today and Gov. Steve Beshear said he would sign it. The Senate voted 29-8 to approve changes the House made in Senate Bill 3, sponsored by...
- Anti-meth Bill Passes Senate; Limits Monthly Pseudoephedrine Purchases To 7.2 Grams A Month And 24 Grams A Year
In an effort to curb methamphetamine production, the Senate passed a bill Friday that will limit the amount of pseudoephedrine that can be bought monthly and annually. Senate Bill 3, approved 25-11, will allow consumers to buy 7.2 grams of medicine containing...
- Compromise Meds-for-meth Bill Clears Committee; Third Drug-related Bill To Pass This Week
Update, March 2: Just hours after the committee approved the bill, Senate Majority Leader Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, "declared its future uncertain," reports Jack Brammer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Stivers said there is "a very successful lobbying...
- Meds-for-meth Compromise Bill Introduced
Lawmakers said they would compromise on the idea of making pseudoephedrine available only by prescription, and they have. Senate Bill 3 would only require a prescription for medicines containing the drug after a patient has bought 3.6 grams of it per...
- As Meds-for-meth Bill Languishes, Some Seek Compromise, But Bill's Sponsor Says Proposals Would Render It Ineffective
By Al Cross and Tara Kaprowy Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues As the bill to require prescriptions for three widely used decongestants remains short of votes to pass the Senate, there is talk of a compromise measure to thwart the use...