| List of cities in Missouri Kansas City St. Louis Springfield Independence Columbia St. Joseph Lee's Summit St. Charles St. Peters Florissant Blue Springs Chesterfield O'Fallon Joplin Jefferson City University City Cape Girardeau Oakville Wildwood Ballwin Raytown Mehlville Kirkwood Gladstone Liberty Hazelwood Maryland Heights Grandview Webster Groves Ferguson Belton Spanish Lake Affton Sedalia Arnold Manchester Hannibal Lemay Sikeston Kirksville Overland Concord Poplar Bluff Creve Coeur Rolla Warrensburg Bridgeton Jennings Farmington Fort Leonard Wood |
1-888-891-4385
MISSOURI: TOUGH RESTRICTIONS ON COLD MEDICINES BECOME LAW
JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI. Some of the nation's toughest restrictions on the retail display and sale of certain cold and allergy medicines were signed into Missouri law Tuesday in an attempt to crack down on methamphetamine production in Missouri.
Missouri legislation targets over-the-counter medications containing pseudoephedrine, a decongestant that is also a key ingredient in making the highly addictive and illegal stimulant methamphetamine.
Also signed into law in Missouri was legislation making it a felony -- punishable by up to life in prison -- to manufacture drugs in a home with children or within one-half mile of a school. Currently, it is a felony to sell drugs close to schools or when children are present.
Both bills were signed into law by Missouri Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell, who was filling in for Gov. Bob Holden, who was out of the state.
In Missouri, one of the national centers of methamphetamine production, law enforcement agencies seized 2,725 clandestine meth labs last year -- the highest number in the nation.
"Missouri has emerged as a national leader in the use of deadly methamphetamine drugs," Maxwell said. "I'm hopeful that we can decrease Missouri's status by implementing these much-needed laws."
Under the retail display law, medicines with pseudoephedrine as the sole active ingredient would have to be kept behind a counter or within 10 feet of a cashier, or be tagged with electronic anti-theft devices. One such medicine is the brand-name decongestant Sudafed.
The rule on displaying pseudoephedrine medicines is intended to deter potential thieves.
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents companies that make or distribute over-the-counter medicines, has said no other state places such a restriction on the display of Sudafed and similar drugs.
There also will be limits on how much pseudoephedrine could be bought in a single transaction.
A maximum of two packages, or 6 grams, of medicine with pseudoephedrine as the sole active ingredient could be bought at one time. For medicines containing pseudoephedrine plus other active ingredients, the single-purchase maximum would be three packages, or 9 grams.
Those provisions also would be among the toughest in the nation. North Dakota enacted a two-package limit on pseudoephedrine medicines earlier this year and prohibited sales to anyone younger than 18.
Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said his group was pleased with the legislation.
"I think we struck a good balance between protecting the consumer and providing flexibility to the retailer," Leone said Tuesday.
The law also would make it a felony to release anhydrous ammonia -- a fertilizer also used in meth production -- into the atmosphere. A release that caused death or serious physical injury would result in even tougher criminal penalties under the bill in Missouri.
"Hopefully, the signing and enactment of this law will give law enforcement the resources and tools in the fight against the scourge of methamphetamine," said Rep. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, one of the bill's sponsors.
The second bill signed into law Tuesday makes it a Class A felony to produce drugs in a home where a child lives, or within 2,000 feet of a public or private school, college, university or school bus.
The only exception would be for production of less than five grams of marijuana, which would remain a Class C felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
The meth problem began several decades ago in California, which still has some of the largest producers and the second-highest number of lab seizures.
It spread east during the past decade or so and has taken root especially in the Midwest, where rural areas provide cover for small, makeshift labs that often produce a stinky, rotten-egg smell.
JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI. Some of the nation's toughest restrictions on the retail display and sale of certain cold and allergy medicines were signed into Missouri law Tuesday in an attempt to crack down on methamphetamine production in Missouri.
Missouri legislation targets over-the-counter medications containing pseudoephedrine, a decongestant that is also a key ingredient in making the highly addictive and illegal stimulant methamphetamine.
Also signed into law in Missouri was legislation making it a felony -- punishable by up to life in prison -- to manufacture drugs in a home with children or within one-half mile of a school. Currently, it is a felony to sell drugs close to schools or when children are present.
Both bills were signed into law by Missouri Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell, who was filling in for Gov. Bob Holden, who was out of the state.
In Missouri, one of the national centers of methamphetamine production, law enforcement agencies seized 2,725 clandestine meth labs last year -- the highest number in the nation.
"Missouri has emerged as a national leader in the use of deadly methamphetamine drugs," Maxwell said. "I'm hopeful that we can decrease Missouri's status by implementing these much-needed laws."
Under the retail display law, medicines with pseudoephedrine as the sole active ingredient would have to be kept behind a counter or within 10 feet of a cashier, or be tagged with electronic anti-theft devices. One such medicine is the brand-name decongestant Sudafed.
The rule on displaying pseudoephedrine medicines is intended to deter potential thieves.
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents companies that make or distribute over-the-counter medicines, has said no other state places such a restriction on the display of Sudafed and similar drugs.
There also will be limits on how much pseudoephedrine could be bought in a single transaction.
A maximum of two packages, or 6 grams, of medicine with pseudoephedrine as the sole active ingredient could be bought at one time. For medicines containing pseudoephedrine plus other active ingredients, the single-purchase maximum would be three packages, or 9 grams.
Those provisions also would be among the toughest in the nation. North Dakota enacted a two-package limit on pseudoephedrine medicines earlier this year and prohibited sales to anyone younger than 18.
Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said his group was pleased with the legislation.
"I think we struck a good balance between protecting the consumer and providing flexibility to the retailer," Leone said Tuesday.
The law also would make it a felony to release anhydrous ammonia -- a fertilizer also used in meth production -- into the atmosphere. A release that caused death or serious physical injury would result in even tougher criminal penalties under the bill in Missouri.
"Hopefully, the signing and enactment of this law will give law enforcement the resources and tools in the fight against the scourge of methamphetamine," said Rep. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, one of the bill's sponsors.
The second bill signed into law Tuesday makes it a Class A felony to produce drugs in a home where a child lives, or within 2,000 feet of a public or private school, college, university or school bus.
The only exception would be for production of less than five grams of marijuana, which would remain a Class C felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
The meth problem began several decades ago in California, which still has some of the largest producers and the second-highest number of lab seizures.
It spread east during the past decade or so and has taken root especially in the Midwest, where rural areas provide cover for small, makeshift labs that often produce a stinky, rotten-egg smell.
