CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former Kanawha County Senator and practicing doctor says requiring prescriptions for drugs containing pseudoephedrine, a key meth ingredient, will help cut down on meth production in West Virginia.
“It diminishes significantly the number of meth labs,” said Dr. Dan Foster of the possible effects of such a change.
“Illicit purchasers, it’s far more difficult for them to get ahold of pseudoephedrine with prescription only. It’s been proven in Oregon and Mississippi.”
Both of those states have laws that keep drugs like Advil Cold & Sinus, Allegra D, Claritin D, Mucinex D and Sudafed behind pharmacy counters and only available with approval from doctors.
Delegate Don Perdue (D-19, Wayne), the House Health and Human Resources Committee chairman, said he will again introduce legislation during the 2014 legislative session that would do the same in West Virginia.
Right now, those medicines are available over the counter, though there are limits on quantities that can be purchased during specified time frames.
Sales of the drugs are tracked in real time through the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx), which was implemented in West Virginia earlier this year.
Foster said further limiting access to pseudoephedrine will have a number of positive effects.
“If you can’t produce it, you don’t have the toxic exposures to kids, real estate, hotels, motels that are damaged with these sites. That is virtually eliminated,” he said.
As for claims that such a change would punish people who follow the law, Foster said there are 120 other products available that work like the drugs with pseudoephedrine.
Already, doctors can call in prescriptions for their patients for the medications as well.
Foster was a guest on a recent edition of MetroNews “Talkline.”