Ellisville City Council to Ban Pseudoephedrine?

Ellisville may soon ban the over-the-counter sale of pseudoephedrine in an effort to curb the production of methamphetamine.

The Ellisville City Council discussed that possibility at its meeting Wednesday, when law enforcement and health care representatives made arguments about whether to require prescriptions for the common nasal decongestant.

Alderman Troy Pieper said he wished a ban weren’t needed, but said the presence of meth in Ellisville is growing.

“I don’t see any way around it,” Pieper said. “It gets worse and worse and worse, and it’s right here in town.”

Others, including Alderman Michelle Murray, said the ban may have too great an impact on the public at large to justify its level of meth reduction.

“I’m hesitant to take away freedoms, personal freedoms, from citizens who are not doing anything wrong,” Murray said.

The discussion Wednesday came one week after the Eureka City Council voted to get rid of its over-the-counter pseudoephedrine sales.

In its most common form, pseudoephedrine is an ingredient in illegal production of methamphetamine. On its website, the U.S. Justice Department said the effects of meth can include addiction, psychotic behavior and brain damage, as well as depression, anxiety, fatigue and aggression.

The ban would affect various generic and brand-name products such as Aleve-D, Sudafed, Tylenol Severe Cold Decongestant, Advil Cold & Sinus and others.

Detective Sgt. Jason Grellner works with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, and is a former president of the Missouri State Narcotics Officers Association.

He told council members that although state lawmakers instituted a pseudoephedrine-purchasing tracking system last September, which involves buyers showing their IDs at checkout, that merely assists law enforcement but does little to reduce production.

Ellisville Police Chief Tom Felgate said he would support the ban, particularly considering the lucrative role of “smurfs”--people who earn profit solely by purchasing pseudoephedrine for others at a markup totaling $50 or $100 per box.

“They can go out and actually make a pretty good profit for themselves, and that just perpetuates the whole thing,” Felgate said.

Joy Krieger of Chesterfield is the Executive Director of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America St. Louis Chapter.

She said that as a trained E.R. nurse, she has seen the physical damage methamphetamine can inflict. However, banning over-the-counter pseudoephedrine sales would require patients to make doctors appointments, travel to the doctor’s office and pay a medical bill for what previously was likely just a trip to a grocer.

“So if you make this a prescription in your community, you’re now burdening an already overburdened health care system,” Krieger said. “Now you’re going to tag on another $100 to that (purchase).”

Alderman Clark Compton also opposed the possible ban, citing concern both for the public and for a family member who suffers from allergies.

“To go to the doctor every time she needed psuedphedrine or other drugs would be extremely costly. So I’d like to see how this new (tracking) system is working.”

Mayor Matt Pirrello and City Manager Kevin Bookout indicated that Bookout would collect additional data related to local meth production, and pseudoephedrine bans already in effect, and report back to the council to consider drafting legislation.