09:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 20, 2005

By CHARLES E. BEGGS, Associated Press Writer

SALEM -- Oregon would become the first state in the nation to require a doctor's prescription for many types of cold medicines under a bill overwhelmingly passed Wednesday by the House as part of the Oregon Legislature's attack on the methamphetamine scourge.

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State Sen. Ginny Burdick, of Portland, left, Rep. Wayne Krieger, of Gold Beach, and Sen. Roger Beyer, of Molalla, stand next to over-the-counter medications that can be used to make methamphetamine.

Backers of the bill, sent to the Oregon Senate on a 55-4 vote, said such drastic steps are needed to help curb availability of ingredients used to make a drug that's ruining lives.

Supporters said they expect the measure to pass in the Senate, and it has the backing of Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

"A plague has spread across America," said Rep. Greg Macpherson, D-Lake Oswego. "This is what we must do in this state to get this problem under control."

The bill would require prescriptions by mid-2006 for medicines containing pseudoephedrine and two similar substances.

Oregon is among more than a dozen states that have restricted sales of medicines with pseudoephedrine.

Oregon requires that sales of tablets be only in pharmacies and behind the counter, with identification required, under rules adopted by the state Pharmacy Board at Kulongoski's request. The board is moving to impose the same requirement for the medicines in gel cap and liquid form.

The meth problem has become a scourge across the country. The National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System, which collects data from state police agencies, shows the reported meth lab seizures increased from 6,777 in 1999 to 10,182 in 2003.

About 12.3 million Americans ages 12 and older reported trying methamphetamine at least once, according to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Macpherson said requiring doctor's approval to obtain some medicines won't eliminate meth in Oregon because much of it is imported. He said the aim is to greatly reduce home cooking labs where toxic chemicals are mixed to make the drug, damaging innocent childrens' health.

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Cold medicines sit on store shelves.

He said he and three other legislators shopped for cold medicines Monday and easily bought enough in an hour to make several weeks' supply of meth for four users.

Opponents of the prescription requirement said it is too radical and that the public won't support the move.

"I don't know that I'm willing to punish the many for the sins of the few," said Rep. Tom Butler, R-Ontario.

Schering-Plough, which makes Claritin, is running radio ads in the Portland market opposing the measure.

"If that bill is passed, the days of just going to the store for these trusted and effective products is over. You would have to go to your doctor first," the ad says.

But Democratic Rep. Peter Buckley of Ashland said lawmakers "have to make decisions we will take some heat on. There's a huge difference between inconvenience and punishment."

"I'm going to vote for that inconvenience," said Republican Rep. Wayne Krieger, a retired state policeman and a leading architect of the bill.

He said 4,900 children are in foster homes around the state because meth has destroyed their families.

Lawmakers are completing action on a package of bills to toughen drug laws and provide $7 million for increased spending by the criminal justice system on investigations, prosecution of drug-makers and treatment of addicts to the illegal stimulant.

The measures would boost penalties against drug-makers, particularly if children or disabled or elderly people are present at homes where meth is produced.

Drug companies have begun reformulating cold medicines to use substitutes for pseudoephedrine that can't be used in meth labs.

Pfizer Inc., which makes the decongestant Sudafed and other leading pseudoephedrine products, is marketing a pseudoephedrine-free Sudafed and plans by January to reformulate up to half of the products with phenylephrine.