Pseudoephedrine Restriction and Drug Endangered Children

The following is an excellent post from Holly Hopper, Director, National Drug Endangered Children Training & Advocacy Center.

One of the hot legislative topics at the state level involves scheduling of pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in Sudafed (R) and other forms of cold medicine. Our memories may easily fail to remember that this medication was available by prescription prior to making it an over-the-counter medication. As it turns out, this decision has cost the public--tax payers--millions upon millions of dollars as members of biker gangs and street chemists began to manufacture methamphetamine.

For the benefit of public convenience, children were forced to breathe dangerous chemicals and suffered the medical effects of this long-term exposure. Law enforcement officers were exposed to chemicals and dangerous environments without realizing the gravity of these harms. The response has evolved to include intensive Haz-Mat responder training for officers and hazardous waste disposal programs initiated by Regional Drug Task Forces to save money. There are a number of law enforcement officers who suffer the health consequences of these exposures that are evidenced by liver damage or lingering respiratory problems.

The children suffer greatly at the hands of a society of untrained responders who fail to see what is right before their eyes. Knowledge is required before an individual is able to interpret that which is before his eyes. With drug busts, dangers must be seen and understood before evidence can be collected, presented, and prosecuted. If children appear to be "okay", professionals respond to what they interpret in an instant to be well-enough to leave alone. What we know is that upon investigation it is common to discover children who test positive for the drugs abused by mom, dad, and caregivers. These children are frequently dehydrated, nutrient deficient, filled with fear, suffering the consequences of trauma, and perhaps even the victim of sexual abuse because they are the currency of convenience. They are the money used to purchase their parent's drug.

What does all this have to do with pseudoephedrine restriction? Drug users with use the upper or downer that is available and provides the least risk of arrest and prosecution. Parents of these children can make large amounts of money working as a "smurfer", a person who spends the days driving from pharmacy to pharmacy to purchase pseudoephedrine and resell it or provide it to the meth manufacturer. These individuals use fake ID's to overcome tracking measures that were intended to prevent illicit use of pseudoephedrine (just as some systems such as KASPER track narcotic prescriptions).

The DEC response targets all child victims of drug related crime. There are far too many of these children out there--over 90% of all substantiated child abuse cases are in this category. However, if I can be inconvenienced just a little, it is worth it to end abuse in this segment of the drug endangered child population.

Meth cannot be manufactured without pseudoephedrine and we have the power to end meth.

What can you do to save a child today?


Holly

http://www.ndec-tac.org/forums/entry.php?17-Pseudoephedrine-Restriction-and-DEC

*KY will be voting on a measure to make pseudoephedrine available by prescription only.  If you live in KY please contact your legislator and urge them to vote "YES" on Senate Bill 45.*