EPHEDRINE & PSEUDOEPHEDRINE; ALLOWABLE GRAMS S.B. 401 & 402:
ANALYSIS AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bills 401 and 402 (as reported without amendment)
Committee: Health Policy and Human Services
RATIONALE
Ephedrine is a decongestant often used for temporary relief of shortness of breath, chest tightness, and wheezing due to asthma. Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant and, in higher doses, can be used as a stimulant. Pseudoephedrine also can be used to synthesize methamphetamine, a Schedule 2 drug that is a highly addictive and often-abused stimulant that affects a person's central nervous system. Under the Federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, to purchase pseudoephedrine a person must present identification and record his or her purchase with a pharmacy. According to the Michigan State Police (MSP), this requirement decreased the production of methamphetamine in the State.
In 2012, in an attempt to decrease further the production of methamphetamine, the Michigan Legislature required pharmacies and drug retailers to track the sale of pseudoephedrine and submit it to the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx), an electronic tracking system used in the United States to provide real-time data to law enforcement. The legislation also established limits to the amount of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine that a person may purchase, and a retailer may sell, in a month and required a "stop-sale" mechanism to prevent sales to purchasers flagged by the system for exceeding the 30-day purchase limit. Recent data from the NPLEx suggest that the production of methamphetamine using pseudoephedrine has continued to decline in the State, but instances of blocked purchases continue to occur, suggesting continued attempts at purchasing the medication for illicit purposes. Some people believe that a decrease in the amount of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine that a person may purchase, and a retailer may sell, would decrease further the production of methamphetamine using pseudoephedrine. Accordingly, it has been suggested that the monthly and annual amounts of pseudoephedrine a person may purchase be decreased.
CONTENT
Senate Bill 401 would amend Part 177 (Pharmacy Practice and Drug Control) of the Public Health Code to prohibit a person from doing the following:
-- Purchasing more than 7.2 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine alone or in a mixture within a 30-day period.
-- Purchasing more than 61.2 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine alone or in a mixture within a single calendar year.
Senate Bill 402 would amend Part 177 of the Code to prohibit a person that possesses products that contain any detectable quantity of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine for retail sale under a licensed issued under the General Sales Tax Act from knowingly selling more than 7.2, instead of nine, grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine alone or in a mixture to any individual within a 30-day period.
The bills are tie-barred. Each bill would take effect 90 days after its enactment.
Senate Bill 401
Currently, the Code prohibits a person from, among other things, purchasing more than nine grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine alone or in a mixture within a 30-day period. The bill, instead, would prohibit a person from purchasing more than 7.2 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine alone or in a mixture within a 30-day period.
In addition, the bill would prohibit a person from purchasing more than 61.2 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine alone or in a mixture within a single calendar year.
Senate Bill 402
Currently, the Code prohibits a person that possesses products that contain any compound, mixture, or preparation containing any detectable quantity of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, a salt or optical isomer of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or a salt of an optical isomer of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine for retail sale under a licensed issued under the General Sales Tax Act from, among other things, knowingly selling more than nine grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine alone or in a mixture to any individual within a 30-day period. The bill, instead, would prohibit a person described above from knowingly selling more than 7.2 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine alone or in a mixture to any individual within a 30-day period.
(A person who violates this prohibition is respon