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11-24-2011, 06:37 AM
FRANKFORT - A Kentucky lawmaker offered a fresh proposal Tuesday to fight meth abuse in Kentucky, where lawmakers have been in a stalemate over whether to make cold and allergy medications containing pseudoephedrine available only by prescription.
Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, said his plan would prevent more than 5,500 people with meth-related convictions from buying medications containing pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in the illegal drug that is widely abused in the state.
"It does not punish law-abiding citizens," he said. "It is a commonsense, middle ground solution to the problem of the scourge of meth that pollutes our society."
Lawmakers have been debating over the past year whether to restrict sales of certain cold and allergy medications to people with prescriptions. That idea didn't garner enough support to pass in last year's legislative session, but is expected to be considered again when lawmakers convene in January.
Yonts' proposal would create a meth-offender registry containing names of people convicted of making or selling meth. If anyone on that computerized registry tries to purchase medications containing pseudoephedrine, police would be automatically alerted.
The proposal would also limit the amount of pseudoephedrine that a person could purchase to 7.5 grams a month and 60 grams a year to prevent "smurfing," the practice of sending others to purchase the medications to get around the limits. That would be roughly the equivalent to two boxes a month, or 20 per year.
Yonts said his proposal could reduce meth production by targeting criminals, not cold and allergy sufferers.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Major Tony King said he considers Yonts' proposal "the best approach" to combating meth. King said widespread abuse of prescription pills in Kentucky, particularly painkillers like OxyContin, show that making pseudoephedrine available only by prescription isn't the answer.
Lawmakers ignited a political firestorm last year when the proposal to require prescriptions for pseudoephedrine came up in the legislature. Opponents and proponents flocked to Frankfort to make their cases on what became one of the most divisive issues of the last legislative session.
http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/201...t|Kentucky
Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, said his plan would prevent more than 5,500 people with meth-related convictions from buying medications containing pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in the illegal drug that is widely abused in the state.
"It does not punish law-abiding citizens," he said. "It is a commonsense, middle ground solution to the problem of the scourge of meth that pollutes our society."
Lawmakers have been debating over the past year whether to restrict sales of certain cold and allergy medications to people with prescriptions. That idea didn't garner enough support to pass in last year's legislative session, but is expected to be considered again when lawmakers convene in January.
Yonts' proposal would create a meth-offender registry containing names of people convicted of making or selling meth. If anyone on that computerized registry tries to purchase medications containing pseudoephedrine, police would be automatically alerted.
The proposal would also limit the amount of pseudoephedrine that a person could purchase to 7.5 grams a month and 60 grams a year to prevent "smurfing," the practice of sending others to purchase the medications to get around the limits. That would be roughly the equivalent to two boxes a month, or 20 per year.
Yonts said his proposal could reduce meth production by targeting criminals, not cold and allergy sufferers.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Major Tony King said he considers Yonts' proposal "the best approach" to combating meth. King said widespread abuse of prescription pills in Kentucky, particularly painkillers like OxyContin, show that making pseudoephedrine available only by prescription isn't the answer.
Lawmakers ignited a political firestorm last year when the proposal to require prescriptions for pseudoephedrine came up in the legislature. Opponents and proponents flocked to Frankfort to make their cases on what became one of the most divisive issues of the last legislative session.
http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/201...t|Kentucky
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