SENATE APPROVES COLD MEDICINE RESTRICTIONS

DES MOINES -- The Iowa Senate on Thursday unanimously approved limits on
the sale of the cold remedy pseudoephedrine.

The measure sharply restricts access to this ingredient used to produce
methamphetamine, but is not as restrictive as many lawmakers and anti-drug
advocates believe is necessary.

"I think the resounding message coming out of the Senate is that we want to
make sure these drugs, sold in places in Iowa, do not end up in meth labs,"
said Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs.

The Senate passage sets up a battle with the Iowa House, where Speaker
Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, says he opposes the bill and may not allow
it to be debated.

At the same time, a House committee is working on a bill that will likely
be more restrictive than the one from the Senate.

Under the Senate bill, any product containing more than 360 milligrams of
pseudoephedrine would be classified as a Schedule V controlled substance,
which means it could only be sold by pharmacists. Also, customers would be
limited to two packages containing the drug in 24 hours and 6,000
milligrams in 30 days, unless they have a prescription.

Products containing 360 milligrams or less, which includes many small
packages of cold medicine, could be sold by regular retailers, but the
items would have to be kept behind the counter in a locked cabinet.

People who purchase the drugs would be required to show photo
identification and enter their name and address in a logbook.

Retailers who violate the rules would be subject to civil penalties, with
escalating fines for multiple offenses and the possibility of being barred
from selling the drug.

One reason for the unanimous vote was an amendment that removed some of the
elements retailers found most cumbersome or difficult to enforce.

"We sat down with the retailers and made sure this is possible or workable
for all of Iowa," said Sen. Bob Brunkhorst, R-Waverly, arguing for the
amendment.

One of the changes was the removal of a penalty for retailers who sell the
same customer more than the monthly limit, which retailers said would be
nearly impossible to track without an electronic database.

"It's a work in progress and we're much more comfortable with where we are
right now with this Senate version," said Jim Henter, president of the Iowa
Retail Federation.

Advocates for retailers are less enthused about the bill being written in
the House Public Safety Committee. An early draft of the bill would
classify nearly every product containing pseudoephedine as a Schedule V
controlled substance and would limit customers to 4,000 milligrams of the
drug per month.

The committee chairman, Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, said he's gotten
suggestions from other House Republicans to ease the restrictions in the
bill, but didn't indicate whether such changes are likely. He said he's
confident the bill will get a fair hearing.