Pseudoephedrine Bill Clears Committee

A bill that would make pseudoephedrine available only by prescription in Kentucky has cleared its first legislative hurdle.

PSE is commonly found in cold medicines and is also used to make meth. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard another hour of testimony on the issue from law enforcement officers and former meth addicts today before passing the bill out of committee.

Before the vote, sponsor Robert Stivers promised to continue pushing the measure regardless of its eventual fate.

“I don’t know if we have the votes in the chamber or on this committee to pass it. If we do I’ll be grateful, if we don’t I will still be a person who will continue to bring the issue to the attention of the public and someday maybe it will change,” he said.

Opponents of the measure say it unfairly limits law abiding citizens' access to a legal drug. But supporters say meth use is out of control in Kentucky and must be curtailed.

Senator Ray Jones, who supports the bill, says any problems that arise can be changed later.

“I believe this bill, if it doesn’t work, guess what, we are no worse off. We can always come back here in January and next year or the following session and make changes if we need to,” Jones says.

The bill passed the committee narrowly, with a 6-5 vote. It will now go to the Senate floor, where it died last year.