WASHINGTON, DC – The Senate Judiciary Committee today passed the Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act, introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). This legislation will take the next key step toward wiping out meth labs in our country, by making it easier for pharmacies to use electronic logbook systems that can monitor sales of meth precursor chemicals and identify individuals who are illegally stockpiling those precursors.
Certain chemicals that are necessary to produce methamphetamine are readily available in household products or over-the-counter cold or allergy medicines. Current law restricts the amount of these products that can be purchased at one time by a single person. Some meth producers have been able to get around restrictions by "smurfing" – purchasing illegal amounts of meth precursor products by traveling to multiple pharmacies and buying small quantities at each.
"Methamphetamine use is plaguing communities in Illinois and throughout the nation," said Durbin. "Law enforcement agencies must have the ability to combat meth without diverting precious resources from other crime prevention priorities. Pharmacies using electronic logbook systems will alleviate some of this pressure. Today, 90% of the pseudoephedrine used to make meth in Illinois is obtained through large illegal purchases of cold remedies. This legislation would make it easier for law enforcement to put in place a better method of tracking these purchases of illegal amounts of meth precursor drugs."
"Smurfing pseudephedrine products from store to store in city to city is a growing problem, especially in communities that border another state. When we wrote the Combat Meth Act, we didn't account for these unscrupulous individuals who have learned that if they provide false information or visit multiple stores, tracking and arresting these people is more difficult," Grassley said. "An electronic logbook will be a tremendous asset for local law enforcement and businesses as they work to end the devastating impact of meth on our communities."
Today's legislation revises the technical logbook requirements found in the federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act ("Combat Meth Act"). Enacted in 2006, the Combat Meth Act limits the amount of meth precursor drugs – such as pseudoephedrine – that a customer can buy and requires pharmacies to keep written or electronic logbooks recording each purchase of the drugs. This approach has led to a drop in the number of meth labs discovered in many states; however, meth producers are beginning to adapt to the current restrictions by "smurfing" or travelling to multiple pharmacies that keep logbooks in paper form and buying legal quantities of precursors at each one.
The Durbin-Grassley bill would change the Combat Meth Act to facilitate the use of electronic logbooks instead of written logbooks. For instance, the bill would revise the Act's purchaser signature requirement to allow signatures to be obtained and stored on paper when the rest of the logbook information is captured electronically. This would make electronic logbook systems far more cost-effective without hurting law enforcement efforts. The bill would also allow for the use of bar code reader technology, and would revise the current requirement that each purchaser "enter" his or her name and address into a logbook so that retailers can type in the information electronically.
The legislation has been endorsed by numerous organizations, including the National Narcotics Officers' Associations' Coalition, the National Criminal Justice Association, the National District Attorneys Association, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.