Adopted at the 119th Annual Conference

San Diego, CA
October 3, 2012

Supporting a Legislative Model Requiring a Prescription for Pseudoephedrine
Submitted by: Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee
NDD.016.a12

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) recognizes that methamphetamine is a highly abused drug and a significant law enforcement and societal problem; and

WHEREAS, pseudoephedrine is a precursor chemical used in the illicit production of amphetamine and methamphetamine; and

WHEREAS, the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act (CMEA) was enacted in 2006 to stem availability of precursor chemicals; and

WHEREAS, the CMEA regulates, among other things, retail over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine by; limiting daily sales, imposing 30-day purchase limits, and isolating the product from direct customer access; and

WHEREAS, although the CMEA was initially successful in reducing the availability of pseudoephedrine, traffickers adopted the technique of "smurfing" to circumvent its requirements. Smurfing is the practice of using fake forms of identification to purchase several small quantities of pseudoephedrine at multiple retail establishments to avoid CMEA limitations; and

WHEREAS, there are indications that states relying solely on the National Precursor Log Exchange or similar pseudoephedrine sales reporting systems, have more methamphetamine laboratories, higher societal costs, increased "smurfing," higher crime rates, and provide Mexican drug cartels—which produce 90 percent of methamphetamine consumed in the U.S. —with "smurfed" pseudoephedrine; and

WHEREAS, several states have enacted legislation requiring prescriptions for all products containing pseudoephedrine, restricting access to pseudoephedrine for those trying to circumvent the CMEA; and

WHEREAS, this legislation successfully limits the availability of pseudoephedrine and results in fewer methamphetamine labs, societal costs, and crime rates; and

WHEREAS, requiring a prescription for all products containing pseudoephedrine would control the availability of this essential ingredient needed to produce amphetamine and methamphetamine; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) duly assembled at its 119th Annual Conference in San Diego, California, recommends that the availability of all compounds, mixtures, or preparations which contain a detectable amount of pseudoephedrine or its salts or optical isomers, be limited by requiring a prescription from a licensed physician or licensed health care professional authorized to prescribe medications.