New Rule Intended To Limit Pseudoephedrine Use In Oklahoma

By Dan Bewley, The News On 6

TULSA COUNTY -- A new law takes effect aimed at stopping meth makers from buying a key ingredient. Law enforcement says it's one more step to curb the dangerous problem.

"We keep all our pseudoephed back here. Whatever people are needing and as people ask for it, we bring it forward so it's behind the counter," said Kathy Campbell, MediCap Pharmacy.

Kathy Campbell at MediCap Pharmacy in Owasso admits pharmacists are on the front lines in the battle against meth. The dangerous drug needs a key ingredient found in some over-the-counter medicines --pseudoephedrine.

A 2006 state law required anyone buying that medicine to show a state-issued ID, but that didn't stop meth makers from skirting the law.

"We had a gal from Sand Springs that had twelve different drivers licenses," said David Hale, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

David Hale says the new law should put an end to that. In addition to the state ID, everyone who buys products with pseudoephedrine must show their birth date and now the pharmacies are connected to law enforcement to see if it's a repeat buyer.

"The difference is you could have someone with a drivers license and a state ID and they're both legitimate forms of identification for the same person but they think that doubles their yield because they can take both of them in and fill from both deals. There was no intermingling. Now, they're not going to be able to do that," said David Hale.

Authorities admit there's not as much pseudoephedrine in the shake and bake method as other recipes for meth, but they say this new step is meant to close a loophole and make it just that much more difficult for those who deal in the deadly drug.

Campbell supports the law, anything, she says, from keeping pseudoephedrine out of the hands of the wrong people.

Both Campbell and David Hale would like to see pseudoephedrine become a product that is available by prescription only.

8/25/2009 Related story: New Oklahoma Meth Formula Catching On Across The Country