Meth ruling goes to pharma

Executive Summary

Twenty Arkansas counties failed to show pharmaceutical firms were responsible for the "societal effects of the methamphetamine epidemic," according to the Jan. 5 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to dismiss the counties' complaint. The counties alleged that the companies opposed regulatory efforts in order to reap profits from the sale of OTC cough/cold products with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. Arkansas, which ordered behind-the-counter sales of PSE-containing products before the federal Combat Meth Act of 2006 was enacted, instituted e-tracking for PSE product sales in 2008 (1"The Tan Sheet" June 9, 2008, In Brief)