Should Sudafed be a controlled drug?

Yes

1 of 1

by Jean Sumner

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If controlling the sales of Sudafed and other drugs containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine can limit access to precursor materials used to make one of the most addictive, destructive drugs the world has seen, then it is worth a slight inconvenience on the part of consumers of allergy , cold, and sinus congestion medications.

Methamphetamine ("meth") is a powerfully addictive drug that severely affects users' minds and bodies, ruining lives and endangering the lives of users' families, friends, and community members. Chronic use can lead to extremely violent behavior, domestic abuse, and even neglect of the user's children (1). In July 18, 2006, the National Association of Counties Survey found that meth is the leading drug-related local law enforcement problem in the country, more than more than cocaine (22%), marijuana (22%) and heroin (3%) combined (1). The intoxicating effects of methamphetamine can alter judgment and inhibition, leading people to engage in unsafe behaviors like needle-sharing and failure to wear condoms . So an increase in transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C may be yet another unfortunate consequence of meth abuse. (2).

In addition, the production of meth may have severe and costly consequences on the environment. Meth labs found in homes, cars, hotel rooms, storage facilities are generally referred to as "clandestine labs". For each pound of methamphetamine produced, five to seven pounds of toxic waste remains. This toxic waste is often introduced into the environment by users who leave it on the premises or illegally dumping it in backyards or ditches or down municipal sewer systems (3). It is then introduced into the environment through streams, septic systems, and surface water run-off (1). According to police in Arkansas, cleanup costs can range anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the size of the lab (4) .

Unfortunately, methamphetamine, unlike other highly abused controlled substances such as cocaine and heroin, can be easily manufactured with common household agents (1,3). Pseudoephedrine, sold under the trademark name "Sudafed", is currently listed internationally as a Table I precursor under the "United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances" (5, 6). The precursor materials, like the pseudoephedrine in Sudafed, the ether from starting fluid cans, and the lithium batteries, are all easily obtained (7). It is the manufacturing process that is so dangerous: cookers not only run the risk of chemical explosions from these highly flammable agents, but the cooking process exposes the user and his or her family to toxic fumes produced during the cooking process (1,3).

Alternatives to controlling the sales of pseudoephedrine and related substances were attempted, however, the increase in meth-related addictions, accidents, and deaths continued to increase as meth abuse and addiction swept across the country in the last 15 years. Large retailers were instructed to increase their diligence in selling all precursors to making meth, but an increase in surveillance seemed to result in meth users obtaining pseudoephedrine in other ways: by stealing it. The National Association of Counties Survey found that crimes related to meth continue to grow 55% of law enforcement officials report an increase in robberies or burglaries in the last year and 48% report an increase in domestic violence (1). Because clandestine meth lab cooks and their using friends do not often have the money to purchase the ingredients needed to make the drug, they may resort to stealing the drugs and other supplies from was stolen from pharmacies, service stations, and discount stores (7). If Sudafed and other pseudoephedrine precursors are easily available, they may be more easily obtained and/or stolen.

So despite restrictions, the continued extreme popularity and ease of obtaining pseudoephedrine to make methamphetamine eventually led to the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 (CMEA). The CMEA was enacted to curtail the illicit production of methamphetamine in clandestine labs by restricting the amount of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine any person can purchase in a specified time period, and further requires that these products be stored in ways to prevent theft (1, 8, 9). Many people are angered and resentful of the restrictions and monitoring that the general public is being subjected to. For instance, some retailers with pharmacies have created corporate policies restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine-cont aining products, many of which are sometimes more stringent than current law demands (1). People needing to purchase decongestants or cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine may have to stand in an additional line at the pharmacy and show an ID to obtain the medication.

In the meantime, states that have enacted similar or more restrictive retail regulations have seen a dramatic drop in small clandestine labs (1). For example, since Oklahoma made pseudoephedrine a Schedule 5 controlled substance in April 2004 after 3 state troopers were killed by meth cooks, the state estimates that clandestine meth labs have dropped by more than 80% (7). Thus, the investment of time, energy, and money expended by the government and the international retail industry to control these substances is worth the minds, lives, families and environment that has been spared.

Controlling pseudoephedrine-rela ted substances used to make methamphetamine is only a partial solution to decreasing the risks of meth abuse and addiction to the society. Government agencies are making drug abuse prevention and addiction recovery a high priority, allocating resources directed towards education and social programs. In order to decrease production and abuse of meth, we need several lines of intervention - right now controlling the sale of pseudoephedrine is a vital method to decrease the availability of precursors needed to engage in the dangerous and environmentally corrosive process required to make meth. It is time to take a step back and view the big picture we may need to endure a few minor inconveniences that are necessary to greatly impact the devastating cost of methamphetamine on our environment and society.

WORKS CITED

1). The Combat Meth Act of 2005: Assessment of Annual Needs - Questions and Answers. U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Diversion Control. Retrieved from: http://www.deadivers ion.usdoj.gov/meth/q _a.htm

2). NIDA InfoFacts: Methamphetamine. Obtained from: http://www.nida.nih. gov/Infofacts/metham phetamine.html

3). Salocks, C. & Kaley, K.B. (2003). Technical Support Document: Toxicology, Clandestine Drug Labs: Methamphetamine. Retrieved from the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment at http://www.oehha.ca. gov/public_info/pdf/ TSD%20Methamphetamin e%20Meth%20Labs%2010 %278%2703.pdf

4). Bradford, M. (2000). U.S. Denies Funds for State Meth Cleanup; Officials Mull Options. Retrieved from: http://www.kci.org/m eth_info/sites/ark_d rug%20cleanup.htm

5). Wikipedia: Pseudoephedrine. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Pseudoephed rine

6). International Narcotics Control Board (Jan 2007). "List of Precursors and Chemicals Frequently Used in the Illicit Manufacture of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Under International Control." Retrieved from: http://www.incb.org/ pdf/e/list/red.pdf

7) . Burke, J. (2005). Pseudoephedrine and Methamphetamine, Pharmacy Times, pg 100. Retrieved from: http://www.pharmacyt imes.com/issues/arti cles/2005-03_2106.as p

8). Cunningham J.K. & Liu L.M. (2003). Impacts of Federal ephedrine and pseudoephedrine regulations on methamphetamine-rela ted hospital admissions. Addiction, 98, 1229-1237.

9). Wikipedia: Methamphetamine. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Methampheta mine#_ref-4

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