Health News
- 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...
- Requiring Prescription For Pseudoephedrine Is 'silver Bullet' Against Meth, Drug Officials Say; Some Lawmakers Disagree
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News If Kentucky wants to arm itself with a "silver bullet" against methamphetamine, it needs to make pseudoephedrine available only prescription. That was the advice of top drug officials in Mississippi and Oklahoma, who...
- Require All To Have A Prescription For Pseudoephedrine, Or Just Meth Criminals? Officials Debate The Issue On Ket
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News If something isn't done now about the prevalence of methamphetamine in Kentucky, "We're going to lose a generation." That was one of the jarring comments from one of the public officials who discussed ways...
- Conway, Stumbo Say Yonts' Pseudoephedrine Bill Doesn't Do Enough To Stop Smurfing
State Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, has proposed a bill that would make people who have been convicted of meth-related crime to get a prescription to buy pseudoephedrine, but Attorney General Jack Conway and House Speaker Greg Stumbo both told cn|2's...
- Make Pseudoephedrine Available Only By Prescription And See What Effect It Has On Methamphetamine Making, Editorial Argues
The 2012 General Assembly should make the cold medicine pseudoephedrine available only by prescription to see if that curbs methamphetamine production, an editorial in the Lexington Herald-Leader argues. The editorial notes the plan of Democratic...
Health News
Opponents of meds-for-meth bill hold teleconference
Since they were not given the opportunity to speak at last week's legislative hearing about a move to make pseudoephedrine available mainly by prescription, opponents held a teleconference yesterday to air their opinions. It was hosted by representatives of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents makers of over-the-counter drugs.
The bill at issue would require a prescription for pills containing pseudoephedrine but would not apply to medications using gelatin capsules, which are more difficult to use in meth making.
Pat Davis, mother of six and wife of 4th District U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, said "Our children are going to miss school, parents are going to miss time at work," if a prescription bill passes. Davis said she was disappointed she'd not been given the opportunity to speak last week. "There wasn't a single dissenting voice to be heard," she said. Legislators said they ran out of time and opponents would be given a chance to be heard.
Dr. Donald Neel, an Owensboro pediatrician, said he "recommends pseudoephedrine daily because it is the only safe and effective drug that we can recommend over the counter." He added, "It makes absolutely no sense for patients who need pseudoephedrine to have to come to the office, to take time off work. And we don't have time to see them." Neel said he feels "97 percent of his patients use the medicine legitimately,"
The bill at issue would require a prescription for pills containing pseudoephedrine but would not apply to medications using gelatin capsules, which are more difficult to use in meth making.
State Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, sponsor of an alternaitve bill, said the prescription measure goes too far. "Who do we punish? The soccer moms? Or the criminals?" he asked. His bill would only require the 5,500 people who have been convicted of a meth-related crime to have a prescription. It would also lower the amount of pseudoephedrine people can buy from 9 grams per month to 7.5 grams. It would continue to track the drug using MethCheck, which instantly tracks purchases at the point of sale. He called his effort "a common-sense approach."
Law enforcement and some legislators have criticized Yonts' bill because it won't alleviate "smurfing," meth cooks' payment of others to buy pseudoephedrine for them. But Yonts said MethCheck requires people buying the drug to hand over their driver's license and be placed in the system, allowing law enforcement to track who buys it often. "When they see these repeated efforts, they're going to be tracked down," he said, adding 30,000 stores and pharmacies use the system nationwide. "it's the right solution for Kentucky, and we can block criminals from getting this," he said.
- 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...
- Requiring Prescription For Pseudoephedrine Is 'silver Bullet' Against Meth, Drug Officials Say; Some Lawmakers Disagree
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News If Kentucky wants to arm itself with a "silver bullet" against methamphetamine, it needs to make pseudoephedrine available only prescription. That was the advice of top drug officials in Mississippi and Oklahoma, who...
- Require All To Have A Prescription For Pseudoephedrine, Or Just Meth Criminals? Officials Debate The Issue On Ket
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News If something isn't done now about the prevalence of methamphetamine in Kentucky, "We're going to lose a generation." That was one of the jarring comments from one of the public officials who discussed ways...
- Conway, Stumbo Say Yonts' Pseudoephedrine Bill Doesn't Do Enough To Stop Smurfing
State Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, has proposed a bill that would make people who have been convicted of meth-related crime to get a prescription to buy pseudoephedrine, but Attorney General Jack Conway and House Speaker Greg Stumbo both told cn|2's...
- Make Pseudoephedrine Available Only By Prescription And See What Effect It Has On Methamphetamine Making, Editorial Argues
The 2012 General Assembly should make the cold medicine pseudoephedrine available only by prescription to see if that curbs methamphetamine production, an editorial in the Lexington Herald-Leader argues. The editorial notes the plan of Democratic...