Lawmaker wants baking soda to be sold behind counter

A St. Louis legislator wants to require that baking soda be sold behind the pharmacy counter as part of an anti-drug effort aimed at a base ingredient in crack cocaine.

The proposal by Democratic Rep. Talibdin El-Amin is modeled after a state law that already requires cold medicines with pseudoephedrine to be placed behind the pharmacy counter. That law is aimed at a key ingredient in the illegal drug methamphetamine.

The anti-meth law requires customers to show a photo ID and sign a log book specifying their name, address and how much they purchased. It also requires someone be at least 18 years old to buy the medications.

El-Amin's bill would implement similar requirements for the purchase of sodium bicarbonate, otherwise known as baking soda. The measure was filed last month and has yet to receive a hearing.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said, "I seriously doubt this will have an impact on the sale of cocaine."

He said the methamphetamine law restricts the sale of a main ingredient of meth. Unless there is a law restricting the sale of cocoa leaves, Swingle said, restricting the sale of baking soda won't do much to cocaine production.

"I'd prefer to see beefed-up border controls to keep cocaine from getting into our country," he said.

El-Amin said the concern about meth seems to have trumped other drug concerns.

"We have crack cocaine running rampant in our neighborhoods," he said. "Don't get me wrong, meth needs to be tackled. But anything that calls attention and brings the crack cocaine problem to the forefront is a positive step."

Federal drug enforcement officers questioned whether adopting the restrictions for a more commonly used product would work.

"When you generate a list of people who use baking soda, it pretty much includes everyone. It's a common household item," Tom Murphy, a special agent with the St. Louis division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Staff writer C.M. Schmidlkofer contributed to this report.