Legislation has been introduced in the N.C. Senate to crack down on methamphetamine production by banning over-the-counter sales of a common cold medicine.
The bipartisan bill introduced by Sen. Philip Berger, R-Rockingham, would require all medicine with the active ingredient pseudoephedrine to be stored behind the counter in pharmacies.
Pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient of the decongestant Sudafed, can be used to create the illegal drug methamphetamine.
Attorney General Roy Cooper has made illegal meth production an important issue since he was first elected in 2000, and he pushed for a law enacted in December that made meth production a crime punishable by active prison time.
Cooper has since been vocal in calling for legislation to crack down on the sale of pseudoephedrine.
“We’ve got to cut this dangerous drug off at the source,” he stated in a Monday press release. “Criminals can’t make meth if they can’t get the key ingredient.”
The number of meth labs reported in North Carolina has increased dramatically during the past several years. Police discovered 322 meth labs in 2004 and have busted 40 so far this year. This is up from 34 busts in 2001 and nine in 1999.
Similar legislation is also being considered in 20 other states. In Oklahoma, where psuedoephedrines can no longer be sold over the counter, meth lab busts have dropped 81 percent, according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.
Sen. Janet Cowell, D-Wake, who is one of the co-sponsors of the bill, said she thinks selling Sudafed behind the counter is an important step in reducing meth lab production.
