California Senate weighs Rx PSE
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The California Senate's Appropriations Committee May 28 approves a bill making it illegal in the state to buy ephedrine- or pseudophedrine-containing products without a prescription. The Consumer Healthcare Products Association initiated an Internet campaign against the bill's passage, warning California consumers they could lose OTC access to antihistamine and decongestant products such as Zyrtec-D, Sudafed and Claritin-D. The trade group notes the state would incur costs from increased health insurance premiums for state employees and could lose $4.5 million in sales tax revenue if ephedrine and PSE products become Rx-only. CHPA argues that existing federal law and electronic logbooks to monitor purchases of methamphetamine precursors have helped decrease the number of illicit meth labs. Oregon so far is the only state to enact a prescription-only law for all PSE drugs (1"The Tan Sheet" Feb. 23, 2009, p. 3)
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The California Senate's Appropriations Committee May 28 approves a bill making it illegal in the state to buy ephedrine- or pseudophedrine-containing products without a prescription. The Consumer Healthcare Products Association initiated an Internet campaign against the bill's passage, warning California consumers they could lose OTC access to antihistamine and decongestant products such as Zyrtec-D , Sudafed and Claritin-D . The trade group notes the state would incur costs from increased health insurance premiums for state employees and could lose $4.5 million in sales tax revenue if ephedrine and PSE products become Rx-only. CHPA argues that existing federal law and electronic logbooks to monitor purchases of methamphetamine precursors have helped decrease the number of illicit meth labs. Oregon so far is the only state to enact a prescription-only law for all PSE drugs (1 (Also see "Wyden To Propose Prescription-Only Status For Pseudoephedrine" - Pink Sheet, 23 Feb, 2009.), p. 3). |