U.S. Border Security and California Meth Labs

President Obama stressed greater border security in his State of the Union Address tonight, an issue that is directly tied to the illegal drug trafficking of drugs in the U.S. Although, the concept of securing our borders is a good one, I don’t think it’s possible to stop illegals from entering the country, if that’s what they want to do. But, I have no doubt Read more

Talk about Oregon meth and prescription pseudoephedrine

Should the prescription requirement for pseudoephedrine mandate in Oregon be implemented in every state? Oregon Senator Ron Wyden thinks so and he has the support of prosecutors, pharmacists, and law Read more

Pseudoephedrine may become a presciption only drug in U.S.

Pseudoephedrine may soon become a prescription only drug in the U.S., if legislation proposed by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) gets passed. The Associated Press reported today that Wyden and members of law enforcement announced a new bill on Friday to restrict the sale of any drugs containing pseudoephedrine to anyone without a doctor’s prescription.

Oregon was the first state to require a prescription for pseudoephedrine containing products, a move that the Senator says is responsible for a 96% drop in meth labs in his state.  Wyden feels that by making pseudoephedrine a prescription-only drug in every state that we significantly decrease the amount of meth labs in the U.S.

Some states aren’t waiting for national legislation to address their meth lab problems. Mississippi, Georgia, and Washington have all proposed legislation for their states that is  similar to Oregon’s state law.

Missouri already have prescription mandates in some parts of their state, including Union , Poplar Bluff and Washington.  Just this week, Kennett, Missouri  passed their own ordinance requiring prescriptions for the purchase of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine.

Source:

KTVZ News Channel 21

Making meth in Kansas and Missouri is about to get alot harder

Making meth in  Kansas and Missouri is about to get alot harder, when computerized data tracking systems get installed in each and every one of their pharmacies. Thanks to the pharmaceutical industry, that day is coming very soon. The Pharmaceutical Industry is giving both states the gift of digitized systems that will keep track of who may be buying pseudoephedrine-based products to manufacture methamphetamine.  Additionally, the industry says Read more

Washington Missouri makes pseudoephedrine a prescription only drug

The city of Washington, Missouri has made pseudoephedrine a prescription only drug, a move that Tony Rothert, legal director for the Eastern Missouri chapter of the ACLU, isn’t happy about.  Rothert has requested that the City of Washington repeal the ordinance and says that he will the prescription-only decision to court, if  they refuse to reverse their decision.  The ACLU may be also be meeting political leaders from Jefferson county in court, as well,  if Jefferson County Executive Chuck Banks goes through with plans to implement a similar ordinance in his county;  the county that has held the record for having the most meth labs in the state of Missouri. Read more

Why do I have to show a photo ID to buy cold, allergy, and sinus medicine ?

Showing a photo ID is required for anyone buying cold, allergy, or sinus medicines, as a result of the Combat Meth Act 2005, a federal law enacted to keep products containing pseudoephedrine out of the hands of meth lab cooks. Pseudoephedrine is an ingredient essential to the manufacture of methamphetamine, an illegal drug that has been found in every state in America.  The Combat Meth Act 2005 was signed in to law by President Bush in March 2006, in an effort to combat the meth problem that is devastating communities in America.

Anytime that you buy a product containing pseudoephedrine, a record of your purchase is recorded either on a paper form or on an electronic form.

Electronic forms of recording pseudoephedrine purchases are quickly replacing paper records in communities across the U.S.  Electronic forms of tracking the sale of pseudoephedrine enable pharmacies to get instant access about what buyers are purchasing and in what quantities. Buying more than the legal limit of pseudoephedrine is an indicating factor that a buyer may be making the purchase of  the cold, allergy, or sinus medicines to make methamphetamine or to supply it to someone else who is making meth.

One electronic program that is being used is called MethCheck, an electronic database developed by Appriss Inc.

Kentucky, corporate home of Appriss, Inc,  was the first state to begin using MethCheck to keep track of the purchase of pseudoephedrine products. By 2008, MethCheck was expected to be used in at least 7,000 pharmacies in 43 states.

Click here to find out more about the Combat Meth Act 2005

Largest Meth Manufacturing Network Ever Prosecuted in Northern District of Iowa

United States Attorney Matt M. Dummermuth announced the dismantling of a large-scale Sioux City meth manufacturing ring supplied by pseudoephedrine “smurfing.” Twenty-three defendants have been convicted and, as of this morning, 16 of them have been sentenced to terms ranging from over 23 years to 2½ years in federal prison. Seven defendants remain to be sentenced.

At the center of the conspiracy was ANTHONY GRENIER, age 46, from Sioux City, Iowa, who Read more

Rite Aid fined for pseudoephedrine tracking violations

Rite Aid has been fined $5 million dollars for violating government regulations that require pharmacies to track the sale of controlled substances that include pseudoephedrine.  Fifty-three Rite Aid pharmacies in California, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia were not tracking the sale of products containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine according to state and federal regulations. Rite Aid has now agreed to adhere to electronic tracking as well as limiting the sale of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine based products that are used to make methamphetamine by meth lab cooks.

Rite Aid further failed to comply with the Controlled Substances Act by not keeping accurate records of prescription drugs that included oxycodone and hydrocodone. The company has responded by providing all pharmacy staff with training about what they need to do to comply with government regulations about Read more

Entire family arrested for making meth

On Friday, May 23, 2008, Police arrived at 612 S.W. Utah St in Camas, Washington home for the second time in 7 years. Neighbors had alerted police, this time, that there were strange odors coming from the home. It was 6 a.m., when police arrived at the home with a search warrant in hand. It didn’t take long for police to discover that the odors that neighbors complained about were not the aromas of cheap coffee brewing. The occupants had just made another kind of pick-me-up that had nothing to do with caffeine. Read more

Paster and school bus driver arrested for meth lab

An Arkansas pastor and his wife, a school bus driver, were sent to prison on Monday for cooking methamphetamine in their home at 2424 S. 26th St, in Rogers, Arkansas . When they go to prison, they will leave behind their 16 year old son.

Joseph Sisneros, 44, had been the pastor of the Fellowship Baptist church, which had been closed. His wife, Barbara Sisneros, 42, was still working as a school bus driver for Rogers Public Schools.

Police discovered a complete meth lab at their home, after following up on their frequent Read more