Nasal decongestant pills containing 30mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride are a key ingredient in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, known commonly as meth.Tennessee municipalities seeking to help law enforcement with its war on methamphetamine are finding themselves running up against a brick wall: their own state and some conservative lawmakers.
Since the first of the year, seven cities in the region have passed ordinances requiring a doctor’s prescription for pseudoephedrine-based cold and allergy medicines – the main ingredient in home-cooked methamphetamine. Six more area cities are in the process of passing such an ordinance, and law enforcement officials are courting 25 across the state.
The medicines currently are available over the counter, and current state law requires buyers of the cold and allergy remedies to show a photo ID and sign a logbook that is submitted to the state. People may not buy more than 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine per day or more than 9 grams over 30 days.
Law enforcement officials have said for years this strategy is not enough to blunt the meth trade. They say buyers called “smurfers” circumvent those laws by traveling from town to town or even state to state to stay ahead of record-keeping and purchasing limits.
In 2012, about 748,000 of Tennessee’s 6.4 million residents bought a product that contains pseudoephedrine, state records showed. About half the purchases were diverted to make meth, officials said.