JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – An initiative called ‘Stop Meth Not Meds’ is praising Missouri’s use of the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx), the state’s real-time, stop-sale pseudoephedrine tracking system.
“The leading manufacturers of PSE, which support ‘Stop Meth Not Meds,’ are working closely with state legislatures and law enforcement to help implement new real-time, stop-sale technology to effectively enforce current laws restricting PSE sales, while still allowing legitimate consumers convenient access to effective and needed medicines,” according to the Stop Meth Not Meds website.
Missouri State Representative Kurt Bahr, R-O’Fallon, lauded the 2014 data from the program, telling The Missouri Times that “the program works.”
A growing number of states are using NPLEx, making Missouri one of 31 across the country that currently utilize the technology to automatically block unlawful, attempted pseudoephedrine (PSE) purchases at the point of sale. NPLEx helps retailers and law enforcement officers work together to stop criminals from illicitly purchasing pseudoephedrine and diverting the medicine to meth. Because of this system, PSE sales, and meth crime, are down across the country.
In 2014, the NPLEx system in Missouri has helped block the sale of more than 35,000 boxes of pseudoephedrine, stopping nearly 91,000 grams — about 200lbs — from getting into the hands of meth criminals.
“In 2014, NPLEx proved to be a huge success in the great state of Missouri, and it will continue to achieve results in 2015,” Bahr said. “Meth crime in the state is on the decline and one of the main factors is the continued use of NPLEx. This system has allowed our state to focus on stopping meth crime while not burdening regular consumers. This dangerous drug has not been completely pushed out of Missouri but NPLEx has played an incredible role in reducing meth production in our state.”
Stop Meth Not Meds supports stopping the prescription-only requirement, saying, “Prescription mandates impose new costs on consumers and the healthcare system while offering none of the law enforcement benefits of real-time, stop-sale technology. Prescriptions are a healthcare function, not an effective law enforcement mechanism, as shown by the widespread and growing diversion and abuse of prescription medicines.”
The group issued the following video on the subject:
Though Missouri uses NPLEx and not a state prescription requirement, St. Charles County recently changed their county policy towards pseudophedrine to require a prescription, which in essence, takes them off of the NPLEx grid. Due to the use of prescriptions, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) takes precent, meaning a warrant is required for sales records, making the NPLEx essentially useless for tracking.
Rachael Herndon was the editor at The Missouri Times and also produced This Week in Missouri Politics, published Missouri Times Magazine, and co-hosted the #MoLeg podcast. She joined The Missouri Times in 2014, returning to political reporting after working as a campaign and legislative staffer.
Rachael studied at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She lives in Jefferson City with her husband, Brandon, and their two children.
