Posted on 01/10/2005 6:48:57 PM PST by Dog Gone
AUSTIN - A state senator who wants to eliminate from the market drugs that contain mainly pseudoephedrine has introduced a series of four bills for returning lawmakers.
Under the legislation by Sen. Craig Estes, no one would be able to buy drugs like Sudafed in Texas. But he said consumers could still buy other congestion remedies containing the decongestant, as long as it is mixed into capsules and cough syrups.
"We hope the general public will realize that a little inconvenience will go a long way," Estes, R-Wichita Falls, told the Scripps Howard Austin bureau in Monday's editions of the Abilene Reporter-News.
In Oklahoma, passage of state legislation last spring that banned store sales of popular medications like Sudafed and Claritin-D that contain pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in methamphetamine, was credited with reducing the number of methamphetamine labs during the first six months of 2004.
Police and prosecutors have been "inundated by meth abusers and cookers" who have crossed into Texas after Oklahoma outlawed over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in methamphetamine production, Estes said.
Restricting sales of common cold remedies that contain the illegal drug's key ingredient could aid in the fight against drugs, said Capt. Doug Kunkle of the Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin.
"It will really reduce the amount of meth they will cook here," Kunkle said. "Anything that can bring us relief ... will be helpful."
DPS officials and other law officers, in a 12-month period that ended in May 2004, busted 934 labs. That number represents a 167 percent increase over a 12-month period ending in December 2002.
"This is drug that is terribly addictive and leads to death and destruction of family and property," Estes said. "It's an overwhelming problem."
The 79th Legislature opens Tuesday
And we're going to make a dent in meth by restricting ordinary citizens from OTC drugs they've lawfully used for years?
GET REAL. If there's money to be made, the meth will be made.
No, I didn't miss it. I just thought it was outweighed by the two previous sentences.
And if I'm making calls??? The grassroots is irritated. Very.
I've hosted too many coffees at the house for local/state politicians for them to get my dander up.
/john
Vigo officials adopt meth ordinance
By Howard Greninger/Tribune-Star
December 22, 2004
Vigo County commissioners on Tuesday voted 3-0 to adopt a countywide ordinance that controls the sale of products used to make illegal crystal methamphetamine.
Now, Terre Haute Police Chief George Ralston said he hopes the City Council will adopt the measure for use in the city, possibly acting on the ordinance in January. That way, Terre Haute police will be empowered to write citations.
Under the county law, county sheriff's deputies would have to write a citation in the city, said County Attorney Tim Fears. Vigo County Sheriff Jon Marvel said he plans to deputize the 12 members of the Vigo County Drug Task Force, many of which are city police officers, enabling them to issue citations.
Ralston said he thinks the measure is a proactive attempt to curb the making of illegal methamphetamine.
"Most of the inmates in the county jail are locked up on drugs [charges] and most are on meth," Ralston said. "This gives us a little teeth and puts them on notice that we will track them. I hope it also puts other counties on notice" and encourages them to adopt a similar ordinance.
"I think this will be a real ripple effect and shows you can do something about it," Ralston said.
Vigo County Sheriff Jon Marvel said the ordinance he introduced is the first of its kind in Indiana. The county ordinance will take effect 30 days after a public notice is advertised, possibly on Feb. 1.
"This will help us identify people who are buying these products" to make illegal meth, Marvel said. "There is nothing that will eliminate this problem until the state and federal government helps out."
Retailers who sell products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine hydrochloride, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, pseudoephedrine sulfate or phenylpropanolamine must obtain a county permit.
The retailer must obtain a picture identification, name and address of individuals buying products containing these substances and submit a report every 30 days to the county Prosecutor's Office.
If a business fails to get an annual permit, it can be assessed a $250 penalty. Violation of the ordinance carries a penalty up to $2,500, with each day considered a separate offense.
State Rep. Trent Van Haaften said he plans to introduce a bill to the Indiana General Assembly in January to restrict the sale of these products. Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, served with Marvel on a state meth task force that made recommendations for state action.
"With counties such as Vigo stepping forward in this effort, it is my hope that Indiana will do the same as other states and take the necessary steps to slow down the meth epidemic," Van Haaften said Tuesday. "Well done to the Vigo County commissioners!"
************ There's more. Under Indiana law, you can be arrested if you possess any one item used to make Meth, if the police think you would.
Under this new county ordinence, if you buy any of these drugs, your name is sent to the prosecutors office and remains on a list indefinitely
Granted, my county is leading Indiana in Meth busts, but after following these stats for several years and doing some research, I've come to the conclusion that we don't have more meth, we have better cops.
We have about 110,000 in the county. Indianapolis has about 1,000,000.
We had about 110 meth busts last year. Indy had 3.
Something about that isn't right.
This law scares the hell out of me. All it takes is one crooked cop, or one person with a grudge, and you are stuck with a rap you cannot shake.
By the way, I now stick to chicken soup for a cold.
But I guess this means we're one up on Texas.
Naw, just limit the amount that can be purchased without a prescription.
Sounds fishy to me, when all they have to do is get several friends/customers/whoever to buy the maximum amount and turn it over. What's your source for this statistic?
Of course we understand, Senator.
Law-abiding citizens have not rights. Their job is to shut up and do as they are told.
And pay taxes, at whatever rate you decide, and however much it should be increased every year.
No "inconvenience" is to great for the public to bear as long as it gets you reelected.
Sudafed is about the only thing that clears my sinuses when they clog up, which they do whenever the barometric pressure and humidity change too much or I get exposed to too much dust. In Vigo County and/or Indiana, I would have to register like a criminal just to buy a common over-the-counter cold medicine. That is NUTS! Thanks for warning me of an area to stay out of!
Somebody please tell his constituents that this a-hole wants to ban the most effective over-the-counter cold medicines available. I would have to move if they did that here!
That's one of the reasons why I am scared. As a journalist and as a Republican, I already have been jokingly threatened with this.
How long will it before someone decides to do it for real (I know I sound paranoid)
I did give away a very nice propane grill I received for my 40th birthday. Propane is on the list of potential meth making products.
The Benevolent Nanny State already tracks large purchases of many common substances exactly for that purpose: finding moonshiners and other malcontents.
Land of the Free, my ass.
Legalizing speed would kill meth overnight. It would be cheaper for everyone. The War on Meth will never be won. It will only cost us more narcs, more bad no-knock raids on the wrong address, more property siezures without due process, and more spying on your life.
A government that spies on my life to that extent doesn't deserve to survive. Would you send your kid to risk his life for Freedom Lite (a trademark of Homeland Security, under license from the DEA)?
I used to have two spoons, but one of the dishes eloped with the prettier one.
Why not just plant ragweed in his yard. Along with juniper and elm.
An incredibly miniscule number of people misuse the drug so punish the entire state of Texas.
This ticks me off so bad I can't see straight right now!!!!!!
At least here we can still get it at the pharmacy. It is really odd though -- at Walgreen's I have to go the pharmacy while at other stores it is still on the shelf in ones and twos.
I don't even know if it has cut down on meth labs but Sudafed and the like are now readily available while before the law was passed, the stores were always low on stock.
Cannot believe they want to do away with it completely.
All I said was here in OK, you have to see the pharmacy to get the drugs -- they didn't outlaw the drugs, they just have put certain drugs on the controlled list.
I think it is dumb to outlaw Sudafed. My only reason for not minding going to the pharmacy is that they are always on hand now when before the law was passed the local stores that stock Sudafed were almost always out. Heck I didn't even know that Sudafed was used by the meth folks. I cannot figure out why the checkers didn't get a clue when someone would purchase 35 packages of Sudafed.
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