Meth. in Arizona
Meth battle heats up again
Some legislators say new law doesnt go far enough
By Jim Small
The final facet of last sessions law restricting the sales of some over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines goes into effect Nov. 6, but some Arizona lawmakers are already working on legislation they say will be more effective at curtailing a growing methamphetamine problem in the state.
One legislator says the state of Arizona needs to keep a record of who buys medicines containing pseudoephedrine and is calling for funding for youth diversionary programs, while another lawmaker is seeking a change in statute that would allow victims of methamphetamine to sue makers of the over-the-counter medications if their product was used to make the drug.
In the meantime, a handful of cities around the state have enacted ordinances possibly in violation of state law that impose stricter standards for the purchase of medications with pseudoephedrine.
Sen. Barbara Leff, R-11, the sponsor of last years legislation, says she cant understand why there is such a concerted effort to change the law, especially at the city level, “when my law hasnt even gone into effect and hasnt had a chance to either work or not work.”
What S1473 does
S1473 (Laws 2005, Chapter 327) created additional penalties for people making meth in the presence of children and increased the penalties for those caught making, carrying or distributing the drug in any circumstance.
The law also requires all retailers to store over-the-counter medicines in which pseudoephedrine is the sole active ingredient in a locked case or behind the counter in an effort to reduce theft and lowers the amount of pseudoephedrine a person could purchase each month. Penalty provisions of the law took effect in August, while the requirement for the sale of the medications takes effect Nov. 6.
The debate is even raging in Congress, where the Senate recently unanimously passed a pseudoephedrine plan similar to one that failed in the Arizona Legislature last session, while the House of Representative is focusing it efforts on stopping the influx of methamphetamines from overseas.
OHalleran plans bill
Rep. Tom OHalleran, R-1, said he will once again be submitting legislation to require the cold and allergy medicines in question be sold only at pharmacies, where they would be stocked behind the counter, out of the reach of the general public. He said he also intends to include a provision that consumers sign a logbook if they are purchasing pseudoephedrine-based medications.
“I think there needs to be recognition that were either going to have meaningful controls on this stuff or were going to have continued [meth] labs in our neighborhoods, and thats just not an acceptable answer,” Mr. OHalleran said.
Last session, Mr. OHalleran introduced a similar plan, based on the one in place in Oklahoma. When his plan, which is more restrictive than what Ms. Leff sought in S1473, was held in the House Rules Committee, he was able to amend many of its provisions onto S1473, though they were later removed during a conference committee.
While the current law only applies to medications that have pseudoephedrine as the only active ingredient, Mr. OHallerans proposal would apply to all medicines that contain the ingredient.
“I believe thats a loophole in the law that needs to be filled in,” he said.
Ms. Leff says there will not be enough support in the Legislature to push any proposal containing a logbook provision through to the governors desk.
“The logbook will not pass,” she said. “I think when people really study what this logbook will do, they would not vote for this, which is what happened last year.”
She says the logbook requirements of Mr. OHallerans proposal last year, and that of the cities going beyond the state law purchasers must show identification and supply their name, address and date of birth increase the publics risk of identity theft at the hands of unscrupulous customers, who could copy down information in the logbook or take a photo of its pages.
The vast majority of methamphetamines in Arizona neighborhoods, Ms. Leff says, come across the border from Mexico. The key, she says, is in stopping the drug from coming into the state and punishing those who use it.
“Go after the people who are trafficking in meth and are cooking meth with the full force of the law,” she said. “My bill says that when you arrest them, they will not get probation, they will go to jail.
“Thats a message [meth users] will get when they start going to jail for 10 years and not getting out.”
Mr. OHalleran says there is no doubt that stopping the flow of the illegal drug from international sources is important, but that alone will not reduce the amount of methamphetamine in the state.
“If you stop 80 percent [of the drugs coming from Mexico], then well just produce 80 percent [more] here,” he said. “Its not going to go away.”
Downing to sponsor ‘victim legislation
Rep. Ted Downing, D-28, said the pharmaceutical companies that make medicines containing pseudoephedrine endanger the public by doing so, even though an alternative ingredient that cannot be converted into methamphetamines is available.
In order to encourage the companies to produce the medicines with phenylephrine instead, he says he will sponsor legislation that would allow methamphetamine victims to sue for damages if an over-the-counter medication was used to produce the drug.
Mr. Downing said a working version of the legislation would classify victims as: someone addicted to methamphetamines; a child born with complications because of methamphetamines; a child residing in a methamphetamine lab; and people who own property adjacent to or on which a methamphetamine lab is located.
The burden of proof would be on the victims to prove a specific legal medication was used to make the drug.
Companies continue to make medicines with pseudoephedrine, even though they know how easy it is to turn their products into a dangerous drug, Mr. Downing says. He argues there is a corporate responsibility to shift production of such medicines to include phenylephrine.
“Profit sometimes overrides morality,” he said. “Its an unnecessary epidemic on our neighborhoods.”
In 2004, Pfizer launched a new formulation of Sudafed made with phenylephrine known as Sudafed PE. Prior to introducing the medicine, Pfizer was an ardent opponent of strict pseudoephedrine laws, but the company has since come out in support of restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine products.
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