In an effort to continue the ongoing battle against meth while at the same time ensuring that consumers have access to the medications they need, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) has sponsored legislation that would increase the availability of medications that make it more difficult to extract a key meth-producing ingredient.

Luetkemeyer’s Stop Meth Labs and Enhance Patient Access Act, which is backed by the National Narcotics Officers’ Association, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Major County Sheriffs’ Association, and the Fraternal Order of Police,  would give the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) the authority to balance the effectiveness of tamper-resistant technologies with processes currently being employed by meth manufacturers.

This solution would allow the DEA to increase access to products that effectively block pseudoephedrine extraction while ensuring the DEA has the flexibility to adapt to changes in future meth production methods.  Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant that is meth’s main ingredient.

“I have seen first-hand the devastating impacts of meth production on Missouri families and while it is critically important to keep up that fight we have to balance those efforts with effective ways of making certain medicines available to those folks who need them for legitimate health reasons,” Luetkemeyer said. “I look forward to working with federal law enforcement officials and my colleagues to strike the right balance between keeping people safe and keeping people healthy.”

Luetkemeyer’s legislation is not only critical nationally but also to Missouri, which was recently ranked third in the nation in the number of law enforcement incidences related to meth production. As a state legislator, Luetkemeyer supported numerous pieces of legislation cracking down on the meth trade in Missouri, which at the time was ranked No. 1 in term of meth activity.