A bill authored by State Sen. Randy Head (R-Logansport) to help curb meth production in Indiana by changing the way ephedrine and pseudoephedrine products are sold passed the Senate today by a vote 41-8.
Senate Bill 80 would keep products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient to making meth, behind the counter and require pharmacists to conduct a brief consultation with patients who would like to purchase them. Consumers who want to purchase medicines like Sudafed, a popular decongestant containing pseudoephedrine, would only need the approval from the on-site pharmacist.
Head says when the approach was implemented in Arkansas, meth labs decreased by nearly 95 percent. Community leaders in Fulton Countyalso implemented this model, and the number of Sudafed sales have been cut in half.
Head added that lawmakers recognize the importance of eliminating meth production in Indiana, but that making pseudoephedrine prescription-only would also punish honest Hoosiers and their families.
SB 80 will now move to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
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