By Drew Adams
Murray, KY – The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on whether pseudoephedrine cold and allergy medicines should require a prescription this week. Committee chairman Republican Sen. Tom Jensen says a prescription bill is intended to reduce methamphetamine labs in Kentucky. But former California narcotics officer Steve Jarvis says it would hurt people who would have to pay more to see a doctor and buy their medicines. Carlos Gutierrez of the Consumer Health Care Products Administration said the proposal doesn't deal with addiction. Gutierrez advocated an alternative that would reduce from 9 to 7.5 grams the amount of pseudoephedrine a person could buy without a prescription and create a registry which would bar those with meth convictions from buying pseudoephedrine.