Nevada D.A. Supports Making Certain Cold-Medicines Prescription Only
Certain cold medicines contain ingredients essential to manufacturing methamphetamine. For example Sudafed and Actifed contain meth ingredients ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine. Currently these medicines are available over-the-counter, but patrons can purchase only a limited number.
D.A. Neil Rombardo supports changing Nevada drug laws to require that customers get prescriptions to buy these cold medicines. He explains that because pharmacies aren't linked to a central tracking system, meth makers can go to several different pharmacies to buy enough cold medicine to make meth. The treatment rate for meth addiction in Nevada is three times the average nationally.
Nevada drug laws make it a crime to possess, sale, manufacture or transport illegal drugs as well as prescription drugs (without a valid prescription). The least serious crime is possession for personal use, and a first-time charge can often be dismissed by doing Drug Court. The most serious crime under Nevada drug laws is trafficking, which could carry decades in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
For more on this story, go to: http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20110108/NEWS/110109593/1070&ParentProfile=1058
