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Over-the-Counter Drugs May Be Restricted ; State House: A Bill Targets Cold Medicines Being Used to Make the Illegal Street Drug Methamphetamine.

Posted on: Tuesday, 1 March 2005, 12:00 CST

The Maine Attorney General's Office is looking to restrict the sale of cold medicines that can be used in the production of the illegal street drug methamphetamine. Consumers could find popular remedies such as Sudafed placed behind the counter at pharmacies and no longer available at a variety of stores, from gas stations to discount chains. New restrictions could also limit the amount of cold medicine a person can buy at one time and allow pharmacies to require a driver's license and signature at the time of purchase.

Attorney General Steven Rowe plans to submit final details of the proposal to the Legislature in the coming weeks. Lawmakers and Gov. John Baldacci would have final say over the restrictions.

The restrictions are the most important issue for Rowe's office in the current legislative session, said Chuck Dow, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office.

Rowe "has already been talking about how the time is now to get out in front of this," Dow said.

Representatives from Rowe's office have met in recent weeks with store owners, pharmacists and pharmaceutical companies to try to reach agreement on the bill before the Legislature takes it up. The groups do not oppose some restrictions on the sale of cold medications. Their representatives, however, have concerns about how broad the prohibitions would be.

For example, Jim McGregor, executive vice president of the Maine Merchants Association, said the proposal likely would allow only a pharmacist or a pharmacist's assistant to sell the over-the-counter medicine. He questioned what would happen on a Sunday when a parent wanted to get a decongestant for a sick child.

"I think there are some questions around what approach you take that are difficult," McGregor said.

Some retailers also question the complexities surrounding which products can and cannot be sold, and pharmaceutical companies want to know whether Maine and other states are taking additional measures to prevent the manufacturing of methamphetamine.

"I think it is about finding a balance," said Virginia Cox of the Washington, D.C.-based Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents manufacturers of over-the-counter drugs.

At least 20 states are looking to restrict for the first time, or add restrictions on, legal substances that are used to make methamphetamine, including cold medicines.

"We expect to see quite a bit of activity on this this year," said Blake Harrison, a criminal justice policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Methamphetamine labs manufacture the drug by cooking pseudoephedrine or related substances that are found in cold medicine with other common products such as starter fluid or liquid fertilizer. The process produces a low-cost, highly addictive drug known as poor man's cocaine. Users snort, inject or smoke it.

Maine has not had the same methamphetamine problem as western states, but officials are seeing an increase in the number of labs and residents seeking treatment.

The Maine Office of Substance Abuse said the number of people seeking treatment for methamphetamine addiction jumped from around 100 annually to 160 last year. And law enforcement officials in Maine shut down three methamphetamine labs last year, the first labs the state had found since 2001, said Maine Drug Enforcement Director Roy McKinney.

"What they say (in other states) is, you want to get in front of this issue. You don't let it get a foothold and then try to contain the issue," McKinney said.

The Attorney General's Office already has some support in the Legislature for the proposed restrictions. State Sen. Peter Mills, R- Cornville, filed a bill on the issue that is also being drafted. The bill would do many of the same things Rowe plans to propose.

Staff Writer Mark Peters can be contacted at 623-1031 or at:

mpeters@pressherald.com

Source: Portland Press Herald

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