Cape may consider pseudoephedrine ordinance

Monday's unanimous vote by the Jackson Board of Aldermen to require prescriptions for pseudoephedrine-based products leaves the largest community in Southeast Missouri yet to take action on the issue.

However, at a city council meeting Monday, Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger asked city staff to draft an ordinance requiring a prescription to purchase pseudoephedrine for presentation at next month's meeting.

Pseudoephedrine is a key component in making methamphetamine.

"To me, we don't have time to wait," Rediger said after a 20-minute presentation by Jason Grellnor, an investigator with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department and president of the Missouri Narcotics Officers Association.

Jackson Alderman Joe Bob Baker said approving the ordinance is a good step for his city.

"I think the pharmacists are in support of it," he said. "It's a good thing for our police department. It's a good thing for all of us."

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan was at Jackson's meeting as the ordinance was approved and said it is a critical step in stopping the spread of methamphetamine. He said 39 methamphetamine labs have been discovered in the county this year, 11 of which were in Jackson.

Jordan said Cape Girardeau's consideration of a similar ordinance will close options for those looking to acquire pseudoephedrine for manufacturing methamphetamine.

"I think they'll act fast," he said. "They'll have to. Cape Girardeau is the last stop in Southeast Missouri where it can be obtained."

The ordinance in Jackson will take effect immediately.

Grellnor, who was worked more than 1,000 methamphetamine labs in his career, told Cape Girardeau council members that their city has become a "mecca" for people who need to purchase pseudoephedrine to make methamphetamine.

Grellnor referenced a friend, who couldn't attend the 5 p.m. study session, who recently approached pharmacists at two of Cape Girardeau's chain pharmacies. Those pharmacies, Grellnor said, sell about 70 boxes of pseudoephedrine-based medicines per day, amounting to around 54,000 boxes each year.

"Cape Girardeau has a population of around 35,000," Grellnor said. "That's approximately a box and a half for every man, woman and child in Cape Girardeau from just two pharmacies."

In addition to providing the council with suggested ordinance language, Grellnor also spoke of the effects of a similar ordinance passed in Washington, Mo.

Research conducted before and after the passage of the prescription-only ordinance in Washington -- the first city in Missouri to pass the ordinance -- showed a 96 percent drop in pseudoephedrine sales in the city's five pharmacies in 90 days.

In Oregon, the first state in the country to pass a law requiring a prescription for pseudoephedrine, the number of meth lab seizures in 2009 dropped below 10. The state recorded more than 500 in 2006 before the law was passed.

"We are destined for 2,000 labs this year," Grellnor said, referring to Missouri, which had more than 1,700 meth lab busts in 2009. "Who wants to bring a business to the state with the most meth labs seven years in a row?"

No more than 15 products on pharmacy shelves contain pseudoephedrine, Grellnor said, and not all pharmacies carry all 15 of the medications that help relieve a stuffy nose and sinus infections.

Grellnor asked the council to take into consideration alternative cold medicines that have the same effect as pseudoephedrine.

"We're talking about 15 products that do nothing else than reduce swelling in the nasal cavity. It doesn't cure cancer, it doesn't cure the common cold and it doesn't cure allergies," he said. "Because of the size of your city and the number of pharmacies you have, you will not only have an effect here, but in all of Southeast Missouri."

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