Combating the war on drugs in Indiana
The 2016 legislative session is a busy one. Lawmakers are discussing a variety of topics ranging from infrastructure funding, education, veterans affairs and combating drug abuse in our Hoosier state.
Legislators are taking a serious look at the illegal drug problem in Indiana and focusing on three major issues: increasing the availability of narcan to save lives from drug overdoses, keeping meth-making ingredients out of the hands of meth cooks and strengthening penalties for drug dealers.
As chair of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and Public Safety, I welcomed Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller to a recent committee meeting to raise awareness of a naloxone grant program. This $1.3 million grant will help fund the training and equipping of Hoosier first responders in the use of naloxone, or narcan, which reverses an opioid drug overdose. This grant will better ensure that our first responders have the tools they need to treat overdoses and save lives.
Our state unfortunately leads the country for the third-consecutive year in meth lab incidents. To combat this, lawmakers are working to keep pseudoephedrine (PSE) – a precursor needed to manufacture meth and a common ingredient in cold medicines – out of the hands of meth cooks. Often times meth cooks also hire so-called “smurfs” to buy PSE from pharmacies in order to work around Indiana’s individual purchase limits. One bill would carefully balance legitimate consumer access with common sense measures to keep PSE out of the hands of meth cooks. Under this bill, in order to obtain PSE, consumers would not need a prescription if they have an established relationship with a pharmacy or are willing to use tamper-resistant PSE formulations or accept a smaller package of PSE. By utilizing the professional knowledge of pharmacists and their consultations with patients, this measure would make acquiring large amounts of PSE for the purpose of making meth or selling to meth cooks considerably more difficult. It’s a positive step in the right direction.
HB 1157 complements these efforts to restrict meth cooks’ access to PSE. If enacted, drug felons would need a prescription to both purchase and possess PSE. Electronic tracking would issue “stop sale” alerts to pharmacies when a drug felon attempts to buy PSE.
Under HB 1235, people convicted of a drug dealing offense could face a level two penalty if they had a prior narcotic or meth drug-dealing conviction. Individuals facing a level two penalty could face 10 to 30 years in prison under this legislation.
If signed into law, these new policies would help stem the production and use of illegal drugs in Indiana. If you have any questions or comments as we work to combat Indiana’s dangerous illegal drug epidemic, please contact my office by phone at (317) 234-3827 or email h67@iga.in.gov.
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Rep. Frye (R-Greensburg) represents Ohio and Switzerland counties, as well as portions of Ripley, Decatur, Jennings, Jefferson and Dearborn counties
