INDIANAPOLIS — Prosecutors urged Indiana legislators Wednesday to ban over-the-counter sales of a common cold medicine used to make methamphetamines and stiffen sentences for convicted drug dealers.
The Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys said of the two proposals it is seeking for the upcoming session, its top priority is a change in state law requiring a doctor’s prescription to purchase pseudoephedrine. GOP House Speaker Brian Bosma supports the proposed ban.
Prosecutors see both proposals as a way to fight violent crime.
“There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that violent crime is tied to drug trafficking,” Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said.
Heroin and crack cocaine pose bigger problems for law enforcement and communities in Northwest Indiana than methamphetamine, said Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, who attended the governor’s news conference. “We don’t really have a big problem with meth, but we certainly have a problem with heroin and crack,” he said.
“My fellow prosecutors to the south, in the rural areas, see the opposite. There, meth is a significant issue,” he said. That’s true in part because of the strong odors associated with the manufacture of meth, which would be noticeable in more densely populated areas, Carter said.
Washington County Prosecutor Dustin Houchin said restricting sales of pseudoephedrine — a key meth ingredient — would help crack down on the number of meth labs in Indiana.
“We don’t contend this will solve the meth-taking problem in our state, but we believe it will solve the meth-making problem,” Houchin said.
Critics say the measure is punitive and would force those who are sick to visit a doctor just to fight a common cold — a cost the government could have to pay through Medicare or Medicaid. They also say it would merely lead meth makers to cross state lines to purchase pseudoephedrine.
Houchin acknowledged some people will likely travel over state lines to get pseudoephedrine and bring it back. But he said it would be enough of an obstacle that it will be effective. He added that the overall detrimental impact of methamphetamine “is far greater than the cost of someone to go to their doctor and obtain a prescription.”
Critics also question the efficacy of the measure because they say Mexican drug cartels are increasingly taking hold of the market with meth manufactured in Mexico.
Prosecutors say that may be true, but they counter that by cracking down on local meth making they can better focus their attentions on the cartels.
The other measure being sought by prosecutors would create a new category of crime of “aggravated drug dealing.”
Carter said he would favor legislation that would include creation of a sentencing enhancement and a charge for being a repeat violent or drug offender. Someone dealing more than 10 grams or who has a prior dealing conviction and possesses a gun during the drug transaction would face a non-suspendable sentence.
Before the 2014 criminal code revisions, there were nine non-suspendable drug offenses, Carter said. “Now there are none,” he said.
“The legislature made it clear with the code revisions that they don’t want us to put offenders with addictions in prison for a long time,” he said. For offenders who sell drugs to support their own habit, Carter said, “they need treatment, not long-term incarceration.”
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“What we need to do is go after the hardened criminals and put them in jail, but provide help with treatment for those who are addicted and suffering,” he said.
Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel said that, along with the state association, he supports making pseudoephedrine a prescription drug, and has seen an uptick over the past several years in methamphetamine-related charges in his county.
There are other over-the-counter drugs that can be substituted for pseudoephedrine and those can’t be used like the decongestant can to manufacture meth, he said in an email.
“Porter County does not have as severe of a problem as many rural Indiana counties with methamphetamine production and use, but the Porter County Drug Task Force regularly investigates meth labs,” he said.
“Generally, areas with access to heroin and cocaine don’t have substantial methamphetamine problems, but over the last several years in Porter County, we have been making more methamphetamine production and possession cases, and more probationers are testing positive for it.”
Aaron Negangard, the prosecutor for Dearborn and Ohio counties, says the Legislature’s revamp of the criminal code, which went into effect in 2014 is too soft on drug dealers.
“The code isn’t currently dealing with this problem,” said Negangard.
Under the proposal, anyone convicted of dealing 10 grams or more of a hard drug like heroin, cocaine or meth could be sentenced to 10 to 30 years in prison. But the proposal also includes provisions that would impose the same penalty for those caught with smaller quantities if they have a gun, sell to a minor, or if children are present.
“We need to be able to say, ‘This is a bad guy and this bad guy needs to go to prison,'” Negangard said.
Suzanne Cantu, pharmacist in charge at Vyto’s Pharmacy’s Hessville location in Hammond, said pseudoephedrine isn’t a big deal at their location at all. Nevertheless, a sign issued by the state indicating the amount of the drug that can be purchased at one time is hung on the counter front-and-center.
“Honestly, we maybe get one or two customers a year asking for (pseudoephedrine), and even then, they buy the normal amount,” Cantu said.
Freelancers Amy Lavalley, Ruth Ann Krause and Michelle Quinn contributed.