Tag Archives: pseudoephedrine

Drug companies spending millions to lobby TN legislature

Drug companies have spent at least $5.9 million — and perhaps as much as $15.2 million — lobbying the Tennessee legislature the past five years, more than doubling the financial firepower of police groups and their allies, reports Chas Sisk.

More than 100 professional lobbyists have been hired since 2009 to press the cases of pharmaceutical makers and their suppliers. Their influence has helped stop legislation that would restrict sales of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in methamphetamine manufacturing.

Drug companies also have contributed at least $637,600 to lawmakers’ campaigns, over and above the millions spent on lobbyists. These donations have placed the drug industry among the top givers to legislative campaigns.

The interests of drug companies are wide-ranging. But a spokeswoman for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which has lobbied the General Assembly and represents many pharmaceutical companies that also have done so, said pseudoephedrine regulation has been among their top issues over the past five years.

…Hard figures on lobbying are difficult to come by in Tennessee. State law requires companies and organizations that hire lobbyists only to report their spending with ranges, not exact dollars. But a Tennessean analysis of lobbying records has found that 35 pharmaceutical companies, two of their major suppliers and three trade associations have hired 107 individual lobbyists since 2009. These companies have spent between $5.9 million and $15.2 million.

And those figures may not include spending that does not relate directly to contacting state lawmakers, such as public relations and lobbying local officials.

By comparison, law enforcement groups, organizations representing local governments and others have spent between $2.8 million and $6 million. Records show this broad coalition has hired only 23 lobbyists, often to work on issues unrelated to methamphetamine production.

The mismatch in resources has been a factor in keeping more restrictions on pseudoephedrine at bay.

“I would say they certainly have had an impact,” said Martin Police Chief David Moore, president of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police. “Certainly, we don’t have PR firms working for us.”

Haslam bows to law enforcement coalition, will amend meth bill

The Tennessee Public Safety coalition, a group of law enforcement officers and district attorneys general, has agreed to back Gov Haslam’s pseudoephedrine bill after he agreed to amend it, reports the Johnson City Press.

While the coalition would rather see an all-out prescription-only law for pseudoephedrine purchases — much like Oregon and Mississippi have implemented, which the coalition says has virtually eliminated meth labs — it’s lending support for Haslam’s proposal after he agreed to an amendment.

“His bill, the way it’s written (without the amendment) is 2.4 grams in an initial purchase, 4.8 grams on an override by a pharmacist, per month, which gives you 57.6 grams a year,” (Knoxville Police Chief David) Rausch said. “That’s higher than any other state has done it. We sat down and said we felt like it needed to have a stronger limit. As a result, the governor came back and has an amendment. We support that amendment.

“He has offered up an amendment which we support. That amendment is 4.8 grams, or roughly 20 doses, as a monthly limit and an annual limit of 14.4 grams. He did away with the override.”

After a consumer in Tennessee reaches the limit -— either in a month or in a year — he or she must obtain a doctor’s prescription to get more pseudoephedrine.

Opponents of limiting pseudoephedrine purchases say the bill will place an undue burden on honest citizens who get sick. Rausch and other supporters of the bill say there are “hundreds of other medications” available to treat cold symptoms.

“If you read the label of pseudoephedrine products, it tells you if you’re still sick when you finish the box that you need to go to the doctor,” Rausch said.

AP story on Haslam’s pseudoephedrine plans

By Erik Schelzig, Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday proposed legislation that would require a prescription to obtain more than a 20-day supply of cold medicines used to make methamphetamine.

The Republican governor said the bill is meant to target illegal drug production with medicines such as Sudafed, which contain pseudoephedrine, while also maintaining access for people who need it.

“You’ve got to remember that 97 percent of people buying pseudoephedrine are buying it for legitimate reasons,” Haslam said. “They’re out there with real cold and sinus problems.”

Under the governor’s plan, people could buy up to 2.4 grams each month of products used to make meth. That’s about 10 days’ worth of the maximum dose. Pharmacists could allow another 10 days’ worth, but anyone needing any more would have to get a doctor’s prescription.

The monthly amount of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine that could be purchased without a prescription under Haslam’s proposal is the equivalent to the average annual total purchased by Tennesseans.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a pharmaceutical industry group, said it opposes what it called “severe restrictions” on cold and allergy medications.
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Haslam pitches compromise on pseudoephedrine sales

News release from Gov. Bill Haslam’s office:
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced legislation to reduce the growing problem of methamphetamine production in Tennessee. The goal of the Tennessee Anti-Meth Production (TAMP) Act is to limit access to pseudoephedrine or ephedrine products to those who are using it illegally while not overburdening law-abiding Tennesseans who need temporary cold and sinus relief.

Haslam joined legislators, members of the Public Safety Subcabinet and key stakeholders to announce his proposal, which aligns commonly purchased amounts of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine with 30-day limits.

“Meth production is dangerous, threatens the safety of Tennesseans and destroys families,” Haslam said. “This bill is aimed at fighting the production of meth while balancing access to effective medicines for the majority of Tennesseans who use them in the right way.

“We are targeting the so-called ‘smurfers’ who buy from a variety of stores in small quantities until they have enough to manufacture meth. This proposal will not affect most people who use these products normally.”
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TN’s 2012 pseudoephedrine law working? Comptroller not sure

The state comptroller’s office has issued a new report, as mandated by the Legislature, on the effectiveness of a state law setting up a system (NPLEx) designed to curb sales of cold medications that can be used in making meth – without requiring that such sales be by prescription only.

The results in a word, to quote a press release (reproduced below): “inconclusive.”

The full report (in pdf) is HERE. Excerpt of the “key points:”

 The illicit production of methamphetamine (meth) remains a serious public health, safety, and fiscal issue in Tennessee.

 Meth production in Tennessee remains at high levels. Between 2008 and 2012, Tennessee and Missouri reported the two highest numbers of meth lab incidents in the nation.

 In 2013, a number of Tennessee local governments considered, and 18 have passed, local ordinances to require a healthcare provider prescription to purchase meth pharmacy precursors – primarily the nasal decongestant pseudoephedrine – at pharmacies within their jurisdictions. In December 2013, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion, which holds that the ordinances violate state law.

 The impact of precursor control policies is inconclusive. Analysis of meth lab incident data and precursor control policies by state does not show a conclusive relationship between specific precursor control policies and the number of reported meth lab incidents. Isolating the impact of a particular precursor control policy is more difficult as states continue to increase the number of precursor control policies in effect.

 There does not appear to be a consistent trend in meth lab incidents between 2010 and 2012 among high meth production states with electronic tracking.

 The number of meth lab incidents in Tennessee since the implementation of the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) in January 2012 has not decreased substantially and remains at high levels. (NPLEx is a real-time, stop-sale meth pharmacy precursor electronic tracking system. It is employed statewide in 29 states including Tennessee and in some pharmacies in other states.)

 Pharmacy precursor purchases in Tennessee for the first three quarters of 2013 were 10 percent lower compared to 2012. Estimated sales declined about two percent from 2011 to 2012 following the implementation of NPLEx. Blocked purchases as a percentage of all purchase attempts remained low – two percent in 2012.

 For the two states with prescription-only statutes, meth lab incidents in 2012 in Oregon remained at low levels and in Mississippi continued to decline. Meth lab incidents in some other nearby states have followed similar trends.

 As of July 2013, 70 local jurisdictions in 26 Missouri counties had passed prescription-only ordinances.

Most ordinances were in effect by the end of 2011. The number of statewide lab incidents in Missouri remained at about 2,000 per year from 2010 through 2012. The number of reported meth lab incidents decreased in 16 of the 26 counties and increased or remained about the same in the remaining 10.

Rigorous statistical studies of the effectiveness of Missouri’s local ordinances are not currently available.

 Sufficient data is not yet available to assess the impact of local prescription-only ordinances in Tennessee. However, the Winchester Police Chief has noted a decline in meth lab incidents, as well as a decline in smurfing and associated crimes, since the municipal ordinances in Franklin County became effective in June 2013.

 Federal funding to support local meth enforcement and required lab cleanup remains uncertain.

 Two “meth-resistant” pseudoephedrine products – Nexafed and Zephrex-D – are now available in many pharmacies nationwide.
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AG says locals can’t mandate pseudoephedrine by prescription only

Cities and counties passing local ordinances to require a prescription for medications containing pseudoephedrine run afoul of existing state law, according to state Attorney General Bob Cooper in an opinion released today.

“Enactment by a Tennessee county or municipality of a local ordinance that prohibits the sale, delivery or distribution of over-the-counter products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine without a valid prescription from a health care professional licensed in Tennessee would violate Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-431 (the “Meth-Free Tennessee Act of 2005,” as amended in 2011),” says the opinion released Monday.

“That section demonstrates the General Assembly’s intent to occupy the entire field of regulation of immediate methamphetamine precursors such as ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, so as to permit no local enactments,” says the opinion requested by Rep. Judd Matheny.

The full opinion is HERE.

Several local governments have enacted such ordinances, even though bills to require pseudoephedrine by prescription only have failed in the Legislature.

Here’s an AP story (basically rewriting a Chattanooga TFP story) written prior to release of the AG opinion:
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Franklin County Jumps Ahead of Legislature in Regulating Meth-Linked Drugs

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Franklin County has moved ahead of the Legislature by adoption of local ordinances to require a prescription for cold medications containing pseudoephedrine, reports the Chattanooga TFP. The General Assembly has debated the idea, but has not enacted it (though Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey recently said he expects a “huge push” in next year’s session, HERE)
Cowan, Decherd and Estill Springs are the remaining municipalities in the county set to pass new rules on pseudoephedrine-based cold medicines as law enforcement takes a new step in the battle against methamphetamine.
Pseudoephedrine is the primary ingredient in meth production.
“The only way it’s going to be successful is if the entire region does this,” Winchester police Chief Dennis Young said. The new, countywide rules will be a first among Tennessee counties.
Young said officials from Franklin County are meeting with neighboring counties, Grundy County being the next stop over the next few days.
…”Tennessee this year is reclaiming No. 1 in the nation in the production of meth,” Young said. Missouri was the top-ranking state, but more than 70 cities in Southern Missouri implemented regulations similar to those being pursued in Franklin County.
“This dramatically reduced their meth labs,” Franklin County Sheriff Tim Fuller said.
“Our Legislature is having a problem getting a law passed, so we’re taking baby steps to do what we need to do here.”
Current Tennessee law restricts the sale of pseudoephedrine-based cold medicines by placing them behind the counter. Buyers must present a valid ID and sign a log for products containing the precursor.
“We’re not making it a controlled substance,” Fuller said. “The state of Tennessee has already said that it can be sold with a prescription, and, if you sell it without a prescription, the statutes say that there are guidelines on how it can be sold.”
Local rules fit those guidelines, he said.

Ramsey Predicts ‘Huge Push’ on Pseudoephedrine Prescriptions

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Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, speaking to a group of Northeast Tennessee realtors, predicted there will be a “huge push” next year to require nasal decongestant medicines like Sudafed to be prescription only, reports Hank Hayes.
“That’s going to be tough,” Ramsey, R-Blountville, said. “That’s pushing government down on the people. All of us are going to have to balance that with what’s best for society.”
Medicine that contains pseudoephedrine — such as Sudafed, Actifed, Contac and Claritin-D — currently can only be sold in pharmacies and must be kept behind the counter in Tennessee.
Buying those drugs requires a customer to present photo identification to a store employee and then sign for the purchase.
The customer’s personal information is then entered into a government database meant to prevent an individual from purchasing more than nine grams of pseudoephedrine — about three boxes — in a 30-day span.
Still, that 2011 law apparently hasn’t reduced using pseudoephedrine as a meth production ingredient, Ramsey said.
“We have a real, real drug problem in Tennessee,” Ramsey said. “When I hear employers say they interviewed 100 people for jobs and only 15 passed a drug test, we have a problem.”
State Rep. David Hawk, one of the lawmakers at the NETAR luncheon, introduced legislation in the last session to require pseudoephedrine products to be maintained “in the same manner as other controlled substances.” Action on the bill was deferred to next year.
“We need to go further,” Hawk, R-Greeneville, said. “We’re investing too much money in jails.”

Bill Limiting Pseudoephedrine Prescriptions Dead for the Year

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A bill to reduce the amount of some medications that can be sold without a prescription is dead for the year, reports the News Sentinel.
House Bill 617 would’ve reduced the amount of pseudoephedrine cold medication that can be purchased as part of the fight against meth. It unanimously passed out of a House Health Committee on Wednesday, but was stopped in the Senate when it was sent to the General Subcommittee, officials said.
State Rep. Tony Shipley, R-Kingsport, who sponsored the bill, expects it to pass the House. He said he then would most likely lay the bill on his desk until the next session so the Senate can reconsider it.
“When it got parked in the Senate General Subcommittee, I almost cried,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve been able to get our hands around this.”
Meth is made using household chemicals such as drain cleaner and lantern fuel to break down pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in some popular cold and sinus pills. The process also creates toxic waste and can cause explosions and fires. Individuals get around limits by “smurfing” or using fake identification to make multiple pseudoephedrine purchases.
Current state law allows individuals to purchase 300 pills or 12 packs with 9 grams of pseudoephedrine per month, Shipley said.
HB617 would reduce the allowable amount to 240 pills or 10 packs with 7.2 grams of pseudoephedrine per month, he said.
“That’s still a lot of pills. The average person takes less than 24 pills in a year,” he said. “We’re not inconveniencing anyone but meth dealers.”

Bill Requiring Prescription for Pseudoephedrine Off Notice

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Legislation requiring a prescription to buy some cold medications has been stalled in a House subcommittee as lawmakers seek a middle ground between law enforcement officers pushing the proposal as a means to combat methamphetamine production and pharmacists opposing it as an unnecessary inconvenience to consumers.
The bill (HB368) would apply to Sudafed, Advil Cold and other products containing pseudoephedrine, which is used in illegal production of methamphetamine. Sponsor Rep. David Hawk, R-Greeneville, told the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee last week the measure is needed because previous legislative efforts — including harsher penalties for meth producers and a record-keeping system for sales of the medications — have not worked to control meth.
“The cost to society is millions and millions of dollars,” he said. “Families are being destroyed. People are dying because of this.”
Oregon and Mississippi have mandated that “meth precursors” be sold by prescription only, Hawk said, and meth production in those states has declined “dramatically.”
But with Hawk’s assent, the subcommittee chairman, Rep. Tony Shipley, R-Kingsport, announced the bill is being “taken off notice” and will be held without action while alternatives are explored. Shipley said he and other legislators met with Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials, who support the measure, and “we were not persuaded this is the approach we need to take.”

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