Congress takes on growing meth problem

Lawmakers appear likely to put federal restrictions on consumers' access to medicines containing pseudoephedrine -- a step many states already have taken.

By Amy Snow Landa, AMNews correspondent. Dec. 19, 2005.

Congress appears poised to address the burgeoning problem of methamphetamine abuse by limiting consumers' access to decongestants containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, which are key ingredients used in cooking the drug.

Under the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, pharmacies and retail outlets would be required to keep products with pseudoephedrine and ephedrine behind the counter or in a locked cabinet, and employees would need special training before being authorized to dispense them.

The legislation, which combines a measure approved by the Senate in September and a bill proposed in the House, has been attached to the Patriot Act reauthorization bill, which Congress is expected to consider before adjourning for the year.

The measure would place the first federal restrictions on the amount of pseudoephedrine pills that consumers can purchase. Sales of gel and liquid medicine would not be restricted because they are not normally used in making meth.

If the bill is enacted, consumers would be kept to a daily purchase limit of 3.6 grams, or 120 pills, and a monthly limit of 9 grams, or 300 pills. They also would need to present a government-issued ID when buying pseudoephedrine products and to sign a logbook recording the transaction.

The legislation would not preempt state restrictions, such as an Oregon law that requires a prescription for buying medicine containing pseudoephedrine, and an Iowa law that limits monthly purchases to only 7.5 grams. So far, 37 states have imposed limits on pseudoephedrine products.