The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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October 14, 2011

Senator wants another crack at ‘Sudafed bill’

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — Look for a renewed effort to pass legislation requiring a doctor’s prescription to purchase common cold and sinus medications next winter in the Legislature.

Known informally as the “Sudafed bill,” even though it covers other brand names as well, the legislation was tailored this year to combat the illegal methamphetamine industry.

Products that contain pseudoephedrine — a critical ingredient in the recipe for meth — can now be bought over the counter at pharmacies and retail outlets.

While last year’s bill failed on a rare tie vote in the Senate, the leading proponent said he feels there’s a better chance this time around.

“I hope so,” Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, said Thursday, after the Judiciary Committee accepted reports on all of its subcommittees, including one that dealt with recommendations by a special task force of the West Virginia Medical Association.

“I wouldn’t bring it up unless I thought we could,” Foster said.

That task force outlined 24 specific recommendations, including one that would make 15 common household cold, sinus and allergy medicines controlled substances.

Meth labs have proliferated in the Kanawha Valley in recent years, making it a strategic point of concern for a series of task forces recently appointed across the state by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. Each task force is designed to focus on a specific region’s particular drug abuse problem.

Foster sees the proposed legislation as more than just an effective tool to help law enforcement combat meth labs.

“It’s also a public health issue,” the Charleston surgeon said.

“A majority of our citizens, in our state, in my view, shouldn’t have that kind of access to pseudoephedrine products, apart from the meth issue.”

Foster said many health issues are associated with ingesting such products, for those suffering heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

“It increases their risks for other problems,” he said of the cold and allergy medicines.

“Apart from the meth issues, it should never have been unscheduled back in the late 1970s. It should have always been a prescription drug in my view. So, that’s another compelling aspect of this. The general public is being harmed.”

At this stage, Foster said he is uncertain just what form the proposed legislation will take in the 2012 session, but he is confident it will reappear.

“It will either be a stand-alone, or conceivably with a larger package,” the senator said.

“I’m not sure how it’s going to be formulated. But there’s a lot of support from the health care community, as well as law enforcement.”

From the law enforcement angle, Foster produced evidence last winter that showed illegal meth activity fell dramatically after similar laws were enacted in Oregon and Mississippi — for now, the only two states with prescription-only sales.

His strongest opposition came from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which said such a law would impose a severe burden on law-abiding consumers, while raising the costs of health care.

Last winter, before the Senate action, Tomblin, then serving as acting governor, said in a Register-Herald interview he was prepared to sign such a bill.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

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