STAND. COM. REP. NO. 441

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 1100

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1100 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PSEUDOEPHEDRINE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to permit only registered pharmacists to dispense, distribute, or sell pseudoephedrine, an over-the-counter cold remedy that is increasingly used in the clandestine manufacture of crystal methamphetamine, or "ice."

This bill would also require that pseudoephedrine be displayed and stored behind the counter under the direct supervision of a registered pharmacist, permit the registered pharmacist to dispense, distribute, or sell not more than six grams of pseudoephedrine to an individual within any thirty day period, except by prescription, and similarly limit the amount of pseudoephedrine a customer may purchase. The bill would also require purchasers to produce identification prior to a purchase of pseudoephedrine and require the pharmacist to keep a log of purchases made.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Community Work Day Program and eleven private individuals. Testimony supporting the intent of the bill, but requesting amendments, was provided by the State Drug Control Liaison, the Interim Director of Public Safety, the Hawaii Pharmacists Association, and Kaiser Permanente. The Board of Pharmacy and Longs Drugs provided comments and suggested amendments. Testimony in opposition to the bill was received from Legislative Information Services of Hawaii, the Hawaii Food Industry Association, Times Super Market, the Community Alliance on Prisons, and a private individual.

Your Committee finds that, in the course of Hawaii's ongoing "ice" epidemic, there has been an increase in complaints of suspicious odors produced by individuals manufacturing illicit drugs like crystal methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories. The latest generation of these makeshift laboratories is easily set up in kitchens, garages, apartments, and hotel rooms where they pose a serious threat of fire, explosion, toxic pollution, and exposure to deadly chemicals and gases. These laboratories have a severe impact on our community, the most devastating of which is the abuse and neglect of children.

Your Committee further finds that pseudoephedrine has been the primary precursor chemical used to manufacture crystal methamphetamine in Hawaii and is readily available in over-the-counter cold remedies. It is diverted to these clandestine laboratories by individuals purchasing multiple boxes of these products or by stealing them off the shelves of retail stores. Over thirty states and the United States Congress are considering or have acted to place over-the-counter pseudoephedrine products behind the counter or to limit the quantity that a customer can purchase in a single retail transaction, or both.

Presently, Hawaii's law on the sale and distribution of over-the-counter pseudoephedrine or combination products is less stringent than federal law and contains a loophole that permits individuals hired by street chemists to obtain these products and later sell them to individuals who use them to manufacture methamphetamine. By contrast, in 2004, Oklahoma enacted a new pseudoephedrine regulation that contains four critical components:

(1) Removal of pseudoephedrine products from all retail shelves (by addition to the list of Schedule V controlled substances);

(2) Limit on sales of pseudoephedrine products to nine grams or three packages over a thirty-day period to any single customer;

(3) Permit sales only through a pharmacist at a licensed pharmacy, with a customer photo identification, signature, and a written record for each sale; and

(4) Exempt certain liquid and gel-cap products containing pseudoephedrine and other products that are extremely difficult or impossible to convert to methamphetamine.

As a result of this new regulation, Oklahoma has realized a fifty to seventy per cent reduction in the incidence of methamphetamine laboratories throughout communities in that state. Not only did the regulation reduce the number methamphetamine laboratories almost immediately, but equally important, it has continued to be effective: April saw a forty-eight per cent reduction; May a fifty-one per cent reduction; June a fifty-one per cent reduction; July a fifty-five per cent reduction; and August a sixty-five per cent reduction.

At the same time, consumers do not feel inconvenienced. A 2003 study conducted by the University of Northern Iowa, Center for Social and Behavioral Research, indicated the following with regard to consumer's retail purchases of pseudoephedrine products:

• Eighty-four per cent purchased pseudoephedrine products at least once in the past year;

• Seventy-three per cent purchased pseudoephedrine products less than six times a year;

• Ninety-five per cent purchased one package of pseudoephedrine products at a time;

• Eighty-five per cent said limiting the amount of pseudoephedrine products that could be purchased would be of little or no inconvenience and eighty-two per cent support that idea.

• Eighty-two per cent said showing identification to purchase pseudoephedrine products would be of little or no inconvenience, and seventy-nine per cent support that idea.

 

• Seventy-six per cent said asking a pharmacist for the pseudoephedrine products would be little or no inconvenience, and seventy-nine per cent support that idea.

The results of this study have been confirmed by the actual experience in Oklahoma, where very few complaints have been received from consumers, retailers, or pharmacists.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended the measure by:

(1) Adding pseudoephedrine to the list of stimulant controlled substances in Schedule V;

(2) Permitting only a registered pharmacist, or a clerk or technician under the supervision of a registered pharmacist, to dispense, sell, or distribute pseudoephedrine;

(3) Limiting the amount of pseudoephedrine that a pharmacist may dispense, sell, or distribute and that a customer may purchase, other than by prescription;

(4) Requiring identification of the purchaser and maintenance of a log of purchases;

(5) Exempting liquid forms of pseudoephedrine and permitting the Department of Public Safety to exempt other products by rule; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1100, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1100, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair