INDIANAPOLIS -- A pair of state lawmakers is trying to curb the production of meth in Indiana through a new proposal unveiled at the Statehouse Monday.
State Senators Randy Head (R-Logansport) and Jim Merritt (R-Indianapolis) want to require a pharmacist's approval for the sale of pseudoephedrine products. The bill would give pharmacists the right to refuse a sale based on a brief consultation with patients.
The lawmakers say the idea is an alternative to requiring a prescription, which the House speaker and others support.
"They're asking, 'What are your symptoms? What's your history? Why don't you try the Nexafed? See if that will work for you. Why don't you try the ZyphrexD?'" said Head. "And people who are insisting, well, no, I have to have the Sudafed, they start asking more questions: 'Why this brand of cold medicine?'"
Merritt said lawmakers have to do something about the state's meth problem.
FIND METH LAB SEIZURE ADDRESSES BY COUNTY AND CITY HERE
“We know we have a meth problem in Indiana,” Merritt said. “Indiana leads the nation in meth lab seizures, but that doesn’t mean that we should punish everyone who needs to purchase cold medicine for themselves or their family by requiring a prescription. Parents don’t want to, and often cannot, go to the doctor and get a prescription for something like Sudafed every time their child is sick.”
Medications like Sudafed would remain behind the counter under the proposal. The bill is one of many the General Assembly will discuss next month when they return Jan. 5.
CLICK ON THE MAP BELOW TO SEE WHERE METH LABS HAVE BEEN SEIZED NEAR YOU:
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