House passes prescription requirement for cold meds

March 2, 2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginians would need a doctor's prescription to buy certain cold medications under legislation passed Wednesday by the House of Delegates.

The bill (HB2946) would require a prescription for medicines containing pseudoephedrine, in a move to curb methamphetamine production. It had bipartisan support, passing 77-23, and now heads to the Senate.

With the number of meth labs in West Virginia rising, police and the West Virginia Academy of Family Physicians support the legislation.  

Over-the-counter drug manufacturers oppose it, saying it would add to health care costs and burden patients. The legislation would apply to 15 of more than 100 medicines. 

House Health and Human Resources Chairman Don Perdue, D-Wayne, said he initially had concerns about the proposal, but changed his mind after further research.

Pseudoephedrine is "a really good medication," said Perdue, a pharmacist. "The problem is that now it's being used to produce something that's extraordinarily dangerous."

Perdue urged colleagues to consider the dangers that meth labs pose to a community.

"See the yellow tape" at the abandoned houses, he said. "And look at the house next door. It might be yours."

Delegate Daryl Cowles, R-Morgan, questioned whether the legislation would really help.

"I just think it's a little overstated that somehow magically if we require a prescription, this problem we're having is going to go away," he said. "Addicts huff gasoline; addicts huff glue. What are we going to do with those problems?"

But supporters point to statistics in Oregon and Mississippi, which are the only other two states that now require a prescription for these medicines. They have experienced dramatic drops in meth lab incidents since passing similar legislation.

The state Public Employees Insurance Agency has estimated that the bill will cost between $400,000 and $800,000 a year if the insurance program had to cover pseudoephedrine claims.

Perdue, though, said that other states have found that costs have been less than projected.

He also cited the cost of meth lab cleanup to taxpayers. West Virginia State Police say each one costs between $2,000 and $3,000.

Last week, West Virginia and other states learned that a federal meth lab cleanup program has ended. The program covered nearly $500,000 in cleanup costs each year for West Virginia.

Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.