State lawmakers may consider further regulating cold medication sales in an effort to curb Indiana’s methamphetamine epidemic. Sen. Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte, says that’s one of several priority issues they will consider when they reconvene next week. He notes Indiana is the top state for meth production and says lawmakers need to find ways of harnessing the problem. Continue reading
Hoosier allergy sufferers could soon face tougher limits on how much over-the-counter cold medication they can purchase. A bill to set an annual cap on pseudoephedrine purchases passed the House by a vote of 91-1. The goal of the legislation is to curb the manufacture of methamphetamine by crimping the supply of one of the drug’s main ingredients. Plymouth Mayor and former Indiana State Police Trooper Mark Senter testified in support of the limits during a House hearing on the bill. Cold medications containing pseudoephedrine are already sold behind the counter in pharmacies in limited quantities, and purchasers must show a photo identification to buy them. The 61 gram per person limit is about an eight-month supply of the current law’s monthly limit. The bill now goes back to the Senate for consideration of a few minor changes before it can be sent to Governor Mike Pence for consideration.
An area mayor is set to speak to state lawmakers about the effects of methamphetamine manufacture and use on his community. Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter will speak in favor of annual limits on ephedrine and pseudoephedrine sales. They are the main ingredient in many cold and allergy medications as well as in the production of methamphetamine. A bill pending in the House would set an annual limit on how much pseudoephedrine an individual can purchase. The current individual purchase limit is 7.2 grams per month, or 86.4 grams per year. The proposal before the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee would cap annual purchases at 61 grams per year for a consumer. It has already passed the Senate. Senter is scheduled to testify before the committee tomorrow in Indianapolis. He’s seen firsthand the effects of methamphetamine. Senter is a retired state trooper who spent five of his 28 years on the force as a member of the ISP Clandestine Lab Team.
A Rochester man police say used a dead man’s driver’s license to buy pseudoephedrine faces identity deception charges. James L. Foster, 56, used a driver’s license issued to Paul Bennett to obtain pseudoephedrine, according to authorities. Bennett died in 2010, and somehow Foster got obtained his driver’s license. The two men have similar attributes. Pseudoephedrine is one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of methamphetamine. State law limits sales of cold medications containing pseudoephedrine in an attempt to curb meth production. Court records indicate Foster displayed Bennett’s license while signing for pseudoephedrine on four separate occasions between June 15 and Dec. 29, 2012, at a Fulton County pharmacy.
Citizens are encouraged to report suspected methamphetamine activity by calling the anonymous Indiana State Police Methamphetamine Tip Line at 1-800-453-4756.
A nonprofit group says an electronic database used by Indiana pharmacists and police to track sales of cold medicines that can be used to produce methamphetamine blocked the sale of more than 57,000 boxes of medicine containing pseudoephedrine during the first six months of 2012.
The Lutherville, Md.-based National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators says data released by the National Precursor Log Exchange shows the system may have kept more than 132,000 grams of pseudoephedrine from being diverted by meth cookers.
A law that took effect Jan. 1 requires retailers selling ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to enter information about buyers and their purchases in the National Precursor Log Exchange. The system issues “stop-sale” alerts if buyers try to purchase more than the allowable limit within a 30-day period.
Knox City Police Department officers arrested a Knox woman, Thursday, after trying to purchase a pseudoephedrine product under a false name.
Police were called to Walgreens after Shayna Howard, 20, reportedly tried to buy a pseudoephedrine product after producing a false identification card. Pseudoephedrine is an ingredient found in the manufacture of methamphetamine. After she was arrested on a charge of Identity Deception, officers learned that drug activity may be occurring at Howard’s home on St. Louis Street. A search warrant was obtained and executed at the home where police reportedly found methamphetamine and a clear liquid in a prescription bottle. The liquid was sent to the Indiana State Police Lab for identification.
