Green Country Pharmacy Supports Tougher Pseodoephedrine Bill

Another plan to limit how much pseudoephedrine you can buy is moving through the Oklahoma legislature.

The drug is used to make meth and state leaders are looking for ways to make it more difficult for drug dealers to get their hands on it.

Medicap Pharmacy in Owasso is often bustling with activity. Like all Oklahoma pharmacies, Medicap keeps products with pseudoephedrine behind the counter, forcing customers to ask for them and allowing the pharmacy to track purchases.

Pharmacist Kathy Campbell says that even though it means more work for her employees she has no problem with laws targeting the sale of pseudoephedrine.

"I think that's a small price to pay for trying to impact the impact of meth in our communities," Pharmacist Kathy Campbell said.

A new law is moving through the state capital that would put even more limits on the sale of pseudoephedrine.

It would only allow you to buy 2.4 grams or 80 tablets a day and 240 tablets every seven days.

If passed, the bill would have Oklahoma join a multi-state tracking system to monitor people who go across state lines to purchase pseudoephedrine.

"You are basically looking at four boxes of Sudafed," Campbell said.

Campbell says the 80 tablet limit amounts to a little less than 4 boxes of the medication a day.

"Totally appropriate," Campbell said. "For a legitimate medical condition you'd never need that much Sudafed. You should probably use, maybe, 80 tablets maximum a month."

"That could be true but, again, we are limiting personal freedoms, personal rights," Tulsa resident Pat Kroblin said.

Kroblin admits meth is a big problem in Oklahoma. But she says laws that focus on preventing people who legitimately need pseudoephedrine from getting it, is not the right way to go.

"It's the same people who say, 'Please keep government out of our lives' that are asking for the curtailment of over the counter drugs," Kroblin said. "I don't understand that. Why should people who need to ease their allergy symptoms be penalized instead of taking care of the meth dealers from a different angle?"

The amended bill was submitted by State representative Doug Cox of Grove. He says it's now made its way of committee and will go to the full house for a vote sometime next week.

02/22/2012 Related Story: Tulsa County DA Angry Over Defeat Of Pseudoephedrine Bill