Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Oregon prescription law against methamphetamine

The State of Oregon became the first in the country to attempt to stem methamphetamine abuses by requiring prescriptions for everyday cold & allergy medications that can be converted into the substance, according to USA Today this morning. A second bill, enhancing the penalties for methamphetamine-related crimes, was also signed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

“Meth has robbed many Oregon children of the right to grow up in a happy & healthy home,” he stated in his press release yesterday, “Limiting the availability of pseudoephedrine and providing long-term treatment will give hope for these kids to get their families back.”

A National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) report updated last Monday, states that “as of June, more than 600 separate bills & resolutions in all 50 states proposed to address a wide array of policies affecting access, affordability, payment and other regulation of prescription drugs.” A list of bills subjected to consideration by state legislatures the first half of this year is attached.

We’ve had two previous postings on this topic which might have additional information of interest. (See June 21 and 29)

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