Oregon Public Broadcasting

Senator Ron Wyden says he’ll introduce a bill that would nationalize Oregon’s groundbreaking meth control law. April Baer reports.

In Oregon, if you want cold pills with pseudoephedrine, a key meth ingredient, you have to have a prescription.

In the three years since Oregon’s law passed, the state has seen dramatic declines in meth lab busts, and meth-related property crimes.

But Senator Wyden says meth cooks  or smurfers, are still getting around the Oregon law.

Ron Wyden “The problem now is that smurfers can still roam the aisles of stores in Vancouver, stores in Boise, Northern California, and elsewhere, buying pseudoephedrine products that are then used to manufacture meth.”

He says he’ll introduce a bill that would make pseudoephedrine a prescription drug nationwide. Making his announcement, Wyden was backed by a who’s who on the Oregon justice scene.

Wyden says he expects some pushback from the pharmaceutical industry, but adds he thinks Oregon’s success with the state rule speaks for itself.