OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma authorities have been at the forefront of the nation’s battle against methamphetamine, but they will soon have a tough new opponent: a politically connected, well-heeled pharmaceutical industry.
At issue is a proposal to require a prescription for certain cold and allergy tablets containing pseudoephedrine. Police and prosecutors say the measure is essential for curbing an out-of-control meth trade. Drug companies and their lobbyists are eager to keep pills such as Claritin-D and Advil Cold and Sinus on store shelves.
The brewing legislative fight poses some tricky politics for lawmakers in this conservative state, squeezing them between big business’ opposition to increased regulation and law enforcement’s urgent pleas to curb the meth trade.
“It will be a very passionate topic,” said state Rep. David Derby, a Republican who opposes the prescription-only effort. “You’re going to see the worst of the worst on one side and the worst of the worst on the other side. And you’re going to have the legislators in the middle of it.”
The Oklahoma debate won’t be the last. Similar bills are under consideration in California, Alabama and Maine.
When Mississippi adopted a similar bill last year, drug companies spent thousands on lobbyists and launched an ad campaign that included radio and print advertising.
“We just feel very strongly about the rights of consumers to purchase a safe, effective and legal product,” said Carlos Gutierrez, director of state government relations for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a Washington-based group that represents the top manufacturers and distributors of nonprescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines.
