Officials Aim to Curb Meth Production in St. Charles County

Monday night, St. Charles County joined dozens of other Missouri communities in requiring a physician’s prescription to purchase cold medicines containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. The compounds are staples for the manufacture of methamphetamine, and county officials said the new regulations are aimed at curbing meth production throughout St. Charles County.

The County Council passed the new requirement in a unanimous 7-0 vote. Council Chairman Joe Brazil, R-2nd District, noted that in only six months this year, more than 100 meth labs had been discovered in St. Charles County, topping last year’s 92 in half the time. Brazil said it was the council’s duty to act.

Councilmember Paul Wynn, R- 4th District, originally did not support the regulations, but said upon consideration, he felt any potential government intrusion was minor compared to the public health risk.

“It’s a terrible thing to limit freedom,” he said. “I hate it, I may come to regret it later, but it’s a necessary evil.”

The law is slated to take effect in about a month, after it’s signed by the county executive.

Critics of the law, including representatives from the St. Louis chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, that the prescription requirements were both a financial inconvenience and an infringement on St. Charles residents’ right to health care access.

But speaking in favor of the regulations during public comments, Dr. Robert Bergamini, pediatric oncologist at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center, said they reduced the potential hassle to “six clicks on an e-record for a year’s supply” for those with a previous relationship with a physician.

“The supposed inconvenience is minimal compared to the health problem,” he said, calling the continued victimization of children by meth production an “impending health nightmare.”

The new law is on top of a state required e-tracking system implemented in 2006, but Bergamini said that of the 17 states to institute an e-tracking system, none saw meth production drop.

St. Charles County Sheriff Tom Neer was instrumental in proposing the countywide requirement, done in conjuction with officials from Jefferson, Lincoln and Franklin counties. He also spoke to the ineffectiveness of e-tracking systems, citing Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri’s 20,000 meth lab busts last year as failed examples. Meanwhile, he said, Hines County, MS had passed a prescription requirement and seen a 73 percent decline in meth production. Oregon, too, passed the laws and witnessed a decrease, Neer said.

“This was brought forth by law enforcement and public health,” he said, “Law enforcement can’t market the damage caused by meth.”

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a group representing pharmaceutical companies, spent about $20,000 on TV and radio ads against prescription requirements. The group also made cold calls to St. Charles residents starting a week before the vote, offering to redirect them to the county council office.

As previously reported, Councilman Joe Cronin wanted to amend the bill to exempt gelcap and liquid forms of pseudoephedrine from regulation, since they are not widely used in meth production. However, the motion was not seconded due to concerns that producers might adapt to changing availability.