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Meth Epidemic Solutions

Before the Indiana Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee

September 8, 2010

The Oregon Experience

Resource Notebook

Website and e-mail

www.oregondec.org

rbovett@co.lincoln.or.us

In the world of drug control . . .

• . . . meth is unique.

• Why?

Pseudo/ephedrine and Meth

(+)-Pseudoephedrine (C10H15NO) (+)-Methamphetamine (C10H15N)

A meth lab:

(+)-Pseudoephedrine (C10H15NO)(+)-Methamphetamine (C10H15N)

(Ogata or Birch reduction)

Start with pseudo/ephedrine

Remove the hydroxyl group

Add back hydrogen

Developments in Mexico

• Mexico has banned PSE entirely

• This is a really good thing

• Why?– DTOs forced to use Phenyl Acetic Acid (PAA)

– The immediate precursor to Phenylacetoneaka Phenyl-2-Propanone (P2P)

– P2P makes dl-meth (half as potent as d-meth)

• Means DTO meth potency is down– Don’t confuse potency with purity

The four P’s of meth

Diamonds (4 C’s)

• Color

• Cut

• Carat

• Clarity

Meth (4 P’s)

• Price

• Purity

• Pounds

• Potency

Method

DTO meth potency down

Right now Mexican DTO meth is

• Pure (Purity)

• Cheap (Price) and

• Plentiful (Pounds)

• . . . but weak (Potency)

This is a good thing

• But this means more pressure to cook meth here in the United States

–User labs

–Super labs

• All of this is fueled by

–Smurfing, smurfing, smurfing

Where the smurfing is happening . . .

Midwest and South• Thousands of small user labs

The West

• “Super smurfing”

• Where does it go?

• Super labs in Central California

Dealing with smurfing . . .

• Electronic PSE database monitoring– Expensive

• More arrests and incarceration

– Burdensome

• On law enforcement, pharmacists, etc

– Reactive

• Arrest way out of smurfing

– Doesn’t work

• Can’t stop two of three kinds of smurfing

Smurfing solutions

Getting rid of smurfing . . .

• Returning PSE to a prescription drug

• As it was prior to 1976

• Oregon enacted in 2005

• Went into effect July 1, 2006

Smurfing by example . . .

Smurfing by example . . .

There were only a few “no” votes

• HB 2485– 9 out of 90

• SB 907– 1 out of 90

Did the sky fall?The parade of horribles . . .

PARADE ITEMS:• Public outcry

• Inconvenience

• Medicaid costs

• Impact on poor

• Forced out of OR

• Won’t work

NACDSCHPAJ&J

Oregon Results

• Smurfing eliminated

• Oregon is no longer a part of the problem

And the sky didn’t fall . . .The parade of horribles never came true

PARADE ITEMS:• Public outcry

• Inconvenience

• Medicaid costs

• Impact on poor

• Forced out of OR

• Won’t work

NACDSCHPAJ&J

. . . and more . . .

• “Law Enforcement does not want to arrest more smurfers or find more methamphetamine labs. Law Enforcement wants to eliminate smurfing and prevent methamphetamine labs.”

– NMPI position paper (October 2009)

NMPI Advisory Board

Missouri

• 14 municipalities

• PSE to RxO

Missouri

• Results . . .

Mississippi

• PSE RxO

• Goes into effect 7/1/2010

New Zealand . . . • The latest to move PSE to Rx only . . .

• and reject industry’s offer to pay for tracking system . . .

In 1976 . . .

• We let a Genie out of the bottle

– We moved PSE from Rx to OTC

• Ever since – band aids

• Growing meth epidemic and meth labs . . .

– Destroying lives, families, neighborhoods

– Poisoning our environment and drug endangered children

• Oregon simply put Genie back in the bottle

– Pure prevention

Keep in mind . . .

• 1. NOTE at bottom of Oregon Fact Sheet

– 2005: Just over 382,000 kilos

– 2006: CMEA

– 2010: Just over 650,000 kilos

• 2. Motives

– PSE product manufacturers

– CHPA / NADDI / Appriss

• 3. We are only talking about 15 products (plus generics of those 15)

A real solution • It has been over 4 years since Oregon

returned PSE to a prescription drug• We no longer have to guess what

works– And what doesn’t work

• After 4 years of actual experience in Oregon:– Smurfing has been eliminated– Concerns about PSE doctor

shopping have not materialized– Little to no public outcry

Meth Epidemic Solutions

Before the Indiana Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee

The Oregon Experience

Questions?