The Indiana State Police says they saw a 35% drop in statewide meth lab seizures during the past year.
State Representative Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn), who supported a bill that limited the amount of certain types of cold medicine you can buy at one time in an effort to curb meth production, tells WOWO News he’s excited with the results so far.
“I’m optimistic in the drop, and I’m very optimistic in the drop of kids having to come out of meth lab homes,” Smaltz says.
Smaltz’s bill made it so Hoosiers who have a “patient relationship” with a pharmacy can buy medicine containing pseudoephedrine without a prescription; if no relationship existed, you could either buy a very small amount or have to get a prescription.
Pseudoephedrine is a key ingredient in methamphetamine.
“Indiana’s decline in statewide meth lab busts is a testament to the hard work of law enforcement and the success of recent reforms passed by the General Assembly to curb meth production,” Smaltz said. “As a lawmaker, one of my top priorities for years has been to reduce the number of Hoosier children exposed to meth labs to zero. Seeing this number cut almost in half in one year is a welcome sign that we are on our way to achieving that goal.”
Over the past three years, Indiana led the nation in meth lab incidents.
