"This law will make Oregon the number one enforcer of methamphetamine laws," says state Representative Patti Smith. The Oregon State Board of Pharmacy will have until July 2006 to implement the new prescription requirement, but the rule could be put into effect sooner.
Other states, such as Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, are cracking down on methamphetamine ingredients but only require medication including PSE products to be sold from behind the counter and for the buyer to present photo identification. Meanwhile, drug makers, who oppose the restrictions, are now introducing alternatives, such as medications containing phenylephrine, which cannot be used to make methamphetamine.
The federal Food and Drug Administration can decide whether to preempt the unprecedented strictness of the Oregon laws or allow other states to adopt similar measures.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress has been working on federal anti- methamphetamine legislation, with provisions to remove preemption of state anti-methamphetamine laws.
