INDIANAPOLIS —
Changing the status of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine to prescription-only status is the only way to eliminate the mom-and-pop meth lab epidemic in Indiana, some Vigo County officials contend.
That message was taken to the Statehouse on Wednesday by Vigo County Sheriff Jon Marvel, accompanied by Prosecutor Terry Modesitt, Superior Court 5 Judge Michael Rader and others.
“We, as a contingent, agree that the only way we see to eliminate the problem entirely is to make it a prescription-only drug,” Marvel said of pseudoephedrine during a news conference at the Statehouse in Indianapolis with Modesitt, Rader and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rob Roberts.
Marvel had testified only minutes earlier to a legislative study committee, which heard several experts speak in favor of prescription-only status, as well as some supporting electronic tracking of PSE product sales.
“Tracking does nothing to prevent meth from being made,” Marvel told the committee, which included Reps. Linda Lawson, Vernon Smith, Bruce Borders and Sen. Carlin Yoder, along with Sen. Tim Skinner (D-Terre Haute).
“Like I told the committee, I’m the guy who came over here 7 years ago and said that we need to track this and make them show a valid ID, but it didn’t work,” Marvel said of electronic tracking and its effect on the clandestine manufacturing of meth. Vigo County did adopt its own ordinance limiting the quantity of PSE products that a person could purchase, but that was later superceded by a state law when the meth problem grew.
“It doesn’t prevent the abuse,” Marvel said. “The only way to prevent the abuse is to make it a scheduled drug.”
Marvel pointed out that Oregon has had great success with its prescription-only purchase law for PSE, and Mississippi has recently gone prescription-only as well.
The people who are most critical of the prescription-only effort, Marvel said, are representatives of the drug industry.
“We have already heard them say they will pay a half-million dollars to get the e-tracking on board,” he said. “Of course they will pay a half-million because they are making billions on it.”
“Unfortunately,” Modesitt added of the drug industry, “they are biased because it’s all about money.”
Rader, who oversees Vigo County’s Drug Court, said the issue has nothing to do with partisanship, but everything to do with the health of the community.
“The problem is that the drug labs are the issue because of the effect on children and the environment,” Rader said. “I think that if we make it harder to get access to the drug, it will have a big impact on our court system and the jails.”
Rader, who is also a medical doctor, said opponents of the legislation will talk a lot about allergy sufferers and people who will be denied access to medication. But there are a lot of other ways to treat allergies than with PSE, he said, and most people who need the drugs can get it through their doctor.
During testimony, the committee heard that prescription drug abuse is a bigger problem in Indiana than methamphetamine use.
Rader agreed, but said that making PSE products prescription-only is not shifting the problem from one crime status to another.
“You can educate the prescription writers who issue the prescriptions,” Rader said, noting that there is training available to educate physicians and other caregivers about cutting off the prescription abusers.
“Part of the problem is that we have physicians who will write these prescriptions by the hundreds,” Rader said of questionable prescriptions for Oxycontin, hydrocodone, Xanax and other commonly abused medications. “There’s no justification for this, but it can be stopped.”
However, Modesitt said he does not agree that prescription drug abuse is a bigger problem.
“If you just check the jails,” he said, “more people are in jail for meth.”
And Marvel pointed out that Oxycontin abuse does not affect the general public the way methamphetamine production and abuse does. A meth lab pollutes the environment with its nasty chemical reactions, poisoning households that often contain children and affecting everyone in a dwelling. The remnants of meth labs are often tossed carelessly along roadsides and left where they will contaminate the environment.
Roberts noted that e-tracking will also not stop smurfing purchases of the drug. People who stay under the legal threshhold for purchases are not violating the law, but they can still be supplying meth cookers with PSE. If the purchase of PSE products without a prescription can be criminalized, Roberts said, then those people are subject to arrest.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.
News
Vigo Officials push state for PSE status change
Vigo sheriff, prosecutor take prescription-only message to Statehouse
- News
-
-
Valentine's Day a rosy business
Red roses, mixed bouquets and even a bonsai tree or two are being delivered today on perhaps the nation’s sweetest holiday.
-
Downtown gets Wi-Fi ‘hotspot’
Frontier Communications has reached an agreement with city officials to create a Wi-Fi “hotspot” covering much of downtown Terre Haute.
-
Board OKs $5.4M in work at schools
The Vigo County School Board has approved borrowing $5.4 million for an expansion of DeVaney Elementary School and energy-related projects at 15 other schools.
-
Stella’s Cafe downtown plans to close March 2
Not long after changing its name from Bit of Britain Tea Room to Stella’s Cafe, a downtown restaurant has announced plans to close its doors.
-
Bill would ease college credit transfers
Indiana college students worried about whether their credit hours will transfer to another university may get some relief if a proposed higher-education bill passes.
-
Court alters trial date for man accused in 1979 death case
A trial date has changed for a Riley man accused of a 1979 homicide.
-
Shift to online raises school cost concerns
Legislation that would require high school students in Indiana to take at least one online course is meeting resistance from some school administrators who say they can’t afford any more mandates from the state.
-
Cops nab man after squad car struck
A West Terre Haute man was arrested Monday after a police pursuit that began after his vehicle collided with a Terre Haute police car.
-
Victim unhurt when robbed by gunman
Terre Haute police were searching late Monday night for a suspect accused of using a gun to rob another person at about 7 p.m.
-
Man face gun charge after woman shot in leg
A Terre Haute man faces a misdemeanor firearms charge following an accidental shooting during the weekend.
-
Martinsville hoops coach accused of indecency
A top Indiana boys’ basketball coach faces a misdemeanor public indecency charge after Indianapolis police say an officer found him in “a state of nudity” in his car in the company of a teenage girl.
-
Packing the hall
If you didn’t come early, the seats were hard to find.
-
Alternative-fuel project has Rose, ISU students all charged up
The future of Earth’s auto industry is intertwined with the career prospects of local university students, and a world-class team shined with green energy Sunday.
-
Montford Point Marine
In 1943, 19-year-old Ezell Odom was on the sandy beach of a tiny South Pacific island about 7,000 miles from his parent’s home in Terre Haute.
-
K-9 officer Shadow honored as a hero
A Terre Haute K-9 officer injured in the line of duty has been honored as a hero by the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.
-
Freezin’ for a Reason
Hundreds lined up outside Hulman Center amid frigid air to participate in a warm-hearted cause.
-
Even as law, right-to-work dominates crackerbarrel
The flames of the right-to-work debate were gone, but the coals still seemed to smolder.
-
Vigo School Board to give OK on bonds for DeVaney project
The Vigo County School Board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the administration building, 686 Wabash Ave.
-
Bridging the gap to ‘forever’
They can be taken from their homes by strangers for reasons they may not understand, with no possessions other than the clothes they are wearing.
-
Students showcase keen problem-solving skills at Rose-Hulman
For the 16th straight year, Honey Creek Middle School students came out on top in the Wabash Valley MATHCOUNTS competition at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
-
Ivy Tech to celebrate Black History Month
Ivy Tech Community College will celebrate Black History Month with a series of events at its campuses statewide.
-
Giant welcome home for Steve
Terre Haute was suddenly home to thousands of cheering New York Giants fans Friday as residents welcomed Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford back home for a parade.
-
‘One for Terre Haute,’ Steve tells crowd at North
“This one was for Terre Haute,” native son Steve Weatherford proclaimed Friday as he shared his Super Bowl victory with the community that helped send him on the path to a world championship.
-
Hometown support vital to success, Weatherford says
Steve Weatherford said Friday he wouldn’t be celebrating a Giants’ Super Bowl victory if not for the support he’s received from his hometown, his parents and mentors in his life.
-
Craning for a rare glimpse
A visitor from the Far East has naturalists flying to Linton, hoping some good comes from one bird’s bad directions.
-
Vigo’s primary election filings complete
The slate is set for the May 8 primary election, with the race for three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council drawing the largest pool of candidates at the county level.
-
Documentary on electric vehicles plays Sunday at Rose
The rising popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on the world eco-system is the focus of a documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” being presented at 3 p.m. Sunday in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Hatfield Hall Theater.
-
Man gets 10-year sentence in battery case
A West Terre Haute man received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for beating a friend caught in bed with the man’s wife.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
-
Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion
The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
- More News Headlines
-
Raw Video: Biden Greets Chinese VP for Visit
Authorities: Houston Found Underwater in Tub
Whitney Houston Funeral to Be Invitation Only
Raw Video: Heavy Shelling in Homs, Syria
Raw Video: 5 People Injured in Bangkok Blasts
Bacteria Keep Swimmers Off Some Fla. Beaches
New Details in Search for Missing Utah Mom
Trial Opens for Ala. Man in Bride's Diving Death
Raw Video: Kim Jong Il Statue Unveiled
Baltimore's 'Crime Stopper' Is a Basketball Star
Raw Video: Hearse Arrives at N.J. Funeral Home
Arm Wrestler Not Guilty Plea in Wife's Death
Raw Video: Houston Body Flown From L.A. to N.J.
First Person: Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Obama: Good US-China Ties Help the Whole World
Raw Video: Protesters, Security Clash in Bahrain
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Obama's New Budget: The Winners and Losers
School Pays Students to Attend Class
Kim K. Wet, Wild and Natural
Ultimate Tazer Ball is a Shocking New Sport
Shakira Attacked By Sea Lion
Modern day treasure hunter searching for $3 billion prize
What Happened Inside Whitney's Hotel Room?
Saying 'I Love You' With a Sewage Plant Tour
VS Models Wow for V-Day
Olympic Swimmer Proposes on Podium After Big Win
Kate Upton MLB 2K12 Commercial
Watch: Whitney Houston's Golden Hearse
Scarlett Johansson's Bikini P-D-A
Man Allegedly Drowns Wife While Scuba Diving
Glee Pays Tribute to Whitney
Wash. becomes 7th state to okay same-sex marriage
Romijn's 60 Pound Weight Loss
The 'Celebrity Apprentice' Cast Meets Donald Trump
Kissing contest heats up
Hugh Hefner's Son Arrested
Jacqueline Kennedy's personal papers released
Did Tyler Perry Have a Secret Wedding?
