Senate shifts cold medicine bill toward wholesalers

BOISE – A bill aimed at putting cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter and limiting their sale was radically altered by the Senate on Wednesday – to the point that it wouldn’t put them behind the counter at all.

The original bill, spearheaded by four House lawmakers, targeted small methamphetamine labs in the state by limiting the sale of decongestants sold under brand names such as Sudafed, Sinutab or Pediacare. The medications contain pseudoephedrine, one of the main ingredients used to cook meth. But opponents said the bill was too far-reaching and wasn’t written with enough input from pharmacists and store owners.

After a lengthy debate on two possible amendments to HB 272, the Senate approved the more drastic change – making wholesalers give monthly reports on the medicine’s distribution and removing the bill’s focus on retailers and consumers.

The amendment also allows the state Board of Pharmacy to track the sale of pseudoephedrine if it deems it necessary.

“The wholesale problem doesn’t exist,” protested Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise. “The problem is at the retail level.”

The amended bill still needs final approval from the full Senate and the House, where the original bill had already passed.

The sponsors of the amendment, Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, and Majority Leader Bart Davis of Idaho Falls argued that the state of Washington has had tremendous success after passing a bill targeted at wholesalers. At least 40 unscrupulous wholesalers there have stopped operating since the law took effect, they said.

“This helps kill the meth problem … but doesn’t penalize law-abiding citizens,” Lodge said.

Yet other legislators contended Idaho doesn’t have the same problems with large production meth labs as Washington does. There has only been one known instance of a wholesaler selling to meth labs in the state, said Sen. Mike Burkett, D-Boise, who proposed an alternate amendment to the bill.

“Our problem is with small mom-and-pop labs,” Burkett said.

Rep. John Rusche, one of the bill’s sponsors, said, “I don’t think the lack of wholesale control is where the problem is. … As a freshman legislator, I am continually amazed at the lack of logic in this building.”

Under Rusche’s bill, people could have bought no more than 9 grams of the drug in a 30-day period, and they would have been required to show ID and sign a log to buy the drug from a pharmacist. Multi-symptom cold remedies that contain other drugs as well as pseudoephedrine would still have been sold in stores, just as long as they were behind the counter.

“The change is more beneficial to the state,” said Pam Eaton, president of the Idaho Retailers Association. “Retailers are already doing so many things voluntarily to help the meth problem.”

Burkett’s amendment would have put all pseudoephedrine behind the counter, where cigarettes are placed, and not forced people to sign a log. But senators said it was simply a watered-down version of the original bill and would be just as detrimental to retailers.