Mike Thomson Co-Sponsors Bill that would Make Many Cold Medicines a Prescription Drug

State Representative Mike Thomson is co-sponsoring a bill that would make pseudoephedrine, a common cold medicine, a Class III drug, meaning that it would only be available through prescription with certain exceptions. That means that if people were to get a cold and they needed medicine for relief, they may have to go to the doctor's office and get a prescription in order to go to the pharmacy. Pseudoephedrine is also a key ingredient in the manufacturing of meth and the purpose of this bill is to make it more difficult for people to make meth and sell it.

The bill classifies a bunch of different drugs as schedule I drugs. Schedule I drugs include drugs that have no accepted medical value and which have a high potential for abuse. Drugs that are schedule I include such drugs as opiates, including their isomers, esters, ethers, salts, salts of isomers, esters, and ethers unless specifically excepted whenever the existence of these isomers, esters, ethers, and salts is possible within their specific chemical designation. It gives a long list of specific compounds that would be classified as schedule I.

It also classifies opium derivatives, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers unless specifically excepted whenever the existence of these salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation.

Schedule I drugs would also include materials, compounds, or preparation which contain any quantity of specified hallucinogenic substances, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers unless specifically excepted. Marijuana is specifically included in this list of substances. There is a list of depressants and stimulants as well.

Among drugs that are placed in Schedule II, the DHSS will place substances in Schedule II if it finds that they have a high potential for abuse, but has current accepted medical use in treatment in this country or currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions and the abuse of the substance may lead to severe psychic or physical dependence.

Pseudoephedrine would be placed in Schedule III along with ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine. Schedule III would be drugs that are less severe than Schedule I or Schedule II. Dietary supplements, herbs, or natural produces including concentrates or extracts that are not otherwise prohibited by law and that contain naturally occurring ephedrine alkaloids in a matrix of organic materials such that they do not weigh more than 15% of the total weight of the product are excepted. Manufacturers can exempt by rule any product containing these cold medicines if they are formulated to effectively prevent conversion of the active ingredient into meth or its salts or precursors. However, the Missouri State Highway Patrol can find probable cause that such a product does not effectively prevent conversion of the active ingredient into meth and the DHSS can issue an emergency rule revoking the exemption for the produce pending a full hearing.