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Washington became the first city in Franklin County, and possibly the nation to pass an ordinance requiring a prescription for over-the-counter (OTC) pseudoephedrine-based medicines, said Grellner, commander of the Franklin County Narcotics Enforcement Unit.
"The city of Washington can, under state law, pass an ordinance that is more restrictive than state law," Grellner told The Missourian. "Case in point, numerous smoking bans in other cities - cigarettes contain drugs. This is no different.
"The city of Washington was not asked to reclassify this drug," he noted. "They are simply acting in behalf of public safety and regulating the sale. It is no different than counties or cities regulating the sale of alcohol. That's why we have dry cities and counties."
Readers also questioned why monitoring of purchase of pseudoephedrine-based medicines is not sufficient in hindering sales of the product.
Grellner said monitoring efforts don't work.
"We tried in Franklin County for the last 18 months and it has had no effect on the number of labs," he said. "In fact, meth labs continued to increase."
Grellner added that the state of Kentucky implemented a "stop sale" system of monitoring pseudoephedrine-based medicines that was not effective and meth labs increased by 47 percent in the state.
"It does nothing more than identify suspicious purchases," Grellner remarked. "That only leads to more arrests and more tax dollars spent on incarceration and either associated taxpayer costs - not fewer meth labs."
Grellner said the new law will not cause an outbreak in pharmacy robberies.
"If people are going to rob a pharmacy, why not rob somewhere to take the drug that they want instead of the drug they need to make a drug?" he asked.
Oregon has a state law similar to the pseudophedrine prescription ordinance and there has not been an increase in pharmacy robberies, he said.
He added that monitoring drives up the "black market" value of pseudoephedrine-based pills. In Franklin County, the black market value of a box of cold medicine containing pseudophedrine is $50. In Kentucky the same package is valued at $75.
"In Oregon there is no black market because there are no meth labs," Grellner said.
"When we went into pharmacies to talk about this ordinance we were met with cheers, high-fives and hugs - the only question pharmacists asked was why this has taken so long," said Grellner. "They see a never ending stream of individuals coming in and purchasing pseudophedrine that later will be used to make meth."
According to Grellner, Oregon also didn't have a jump in Medicaid costs as some said would occur if this ordinance is passed on a larger scale. He added that the state saw a rise of $7,000 in Medicaid costs.
"According to a RAND (a nonprofit study group), in 2007 meth cost taxpayers $23.4 billion," Grellner said.
He also disputed his "lack of thought at this issue" as described by one reader.
"I have done nothing but think about this issue for 13 years," he said. "I have been involved in local, state and federal meetings in attempts to impact this problem. The city of Washington was asked to be the first city to enact this because it has the most pharmacies in the county. We will continue to press for this in other cities in the state and county."
Grellner added that law enforcement agencies and national committees based in Arkansas, California, New Mexico and Arizona all have asked for copies of the ordinance passed by the Washington City Council.
Many who are against the ordinance claim that medicine containing pseudophedrine are the only medications that relieve them of symptoms.
"There are still hundreds of cold medicines on the shelf in pharmacies and grocery stores," Grellner noted. "You don't have to have a doctor to ask for a prescription to treat the common cold. There are a number of remedies to treat a runny nose."
Some readers asked if car batteries, chicken starter feed or other chemicals that are used in some recipes to manufacture meth are next to be banned.
"There are hundreds of chemicals used to make meth but none can be used to make meth without pseudophedrine," he said. "I have done research with two of the largest animal feed companies in the world and there is no pseudophedrine in chicken starter feed or mineral blocks - there are recipes, however, they do not work and do not make meth."
Grellner also said the pseudophedrine prescription ordinance is not a "knee jerk reaction" as described in an online comment.
"A knee jerk reaction is made to a problem immediately without thought," he said. "This has been scrutinized, discussed and planned to end the meth problem."
He explained that since 1996 there have been efforts to convince state and federal legislators to control pseudophedrine sales in an effort to curb meth production.
"Here we stand 13 years later and over 50,000 labs later and we stand with the same problem," Grellner told The Missourian. "I hardly refer to this as a knee jerk reaction."
Grellner also responded to the American Civil Liberties Union which asked the city of Washington to repeal the ordinance.
"Where was the ACLU when 1,100 children were found dead, or living in meth labs?" he asked. "What about the rights of the people living next door to meth labs who call day in and day out complaining about their neighbors they know are operating a meth lab?
What about the danger to the police, firefighters and ambulance personnel who have to respond to deadly and toxic scenes as Franklin County approaches 1,000 labs since 1997?"
