Indiana Meth & Marijuana Bills Move Forward
Two bills are making forward progress in the Indiana State Legislature. One will examine if the state should consider marijuana legalization while another would make it more difficult to get the cold medications used in making methamphetamines. A balance of tightening control on one bill and loosening it on another.
The marijuana bill will go before the full Senate and requests the state crime policy panel studies Indiana’s marijuana laws and makes recommendations as to the potential legalization of the substance. The criminal law committee advanced this measure with a 5 to 3 vote.
State Senator Karen Tallian (D Portage) sponsored the bill and has concerns about the money spent by the state and local Indiana governments on the enforcement of current marijuana laws. An unlikely supporter, conservative Representative Tom Knollman has multiple sclerosis and states he believes medical marijuana should be considered in the state.
He spends about $25,000 a year on pain medication, something he says isn’t always effective. He says “I hear that one of God’s plants is working to help ease the pain of multiple sclerosis.”
The meth bill will also go before the full Senate and would track the sale of common cold medicines via computer. Some law enforcement groups were hoping the committee would suggest prescriptions for medications containing pseudoephedrine but that wasn’t the case.
Instead, if passed, the meth bill would require drug stores to track the sales of such medications on computers and report attempts by people to purchase more than the current allowable amount. Under current law, where such cold medications are limited, meth labs initially fell in the state. However, there has recently been a resurgence as meth makers find new ways around the restrictions.
A local former Sheriff states “We’ve forced the bad guys to expand their criminal enterprise by bringing more people in buying their lawful amount of pseudoephedrine.” And he’s right. While they used to just buy up the medication, they now enlist others to help, sometimes sending multiple people into multiple drug stores in exchange for drugs.
Currently, Indiana drug laws are some of the harshest in the country. Being caught with methamphetamines, no matter how much, is a felony. Even if you only have a quarter-gram, you could face up to 3 years in prison and a felony record that will haunt you for life.
There are many factors that go into determining the charge you face and your potential penalty. Though the type of drug and amount are often the first you think of, your criminal history and other factors can play a role as well. If you’re facing drug charges and in need of an experienced defense lawyer, contact our attorneys today for a consultation on your case.
In January nearly 1,200 pharmacies across the state started using the Appriss system to track pseudoephedrine. In its first full month of the program, January, almost 12,000 boxes we stopped from being sold. The police are also reporting that “smurfs”, the straw purchasers of pseudoephedrine, are being forced to adjust their purchasing methods already. That’s progress. In fact this system is used in 17 states with the same results. Hundreds of thousands of boxes are being stopped from being sold to problem purchasers each month. That’s great. What’s even better is it was done without the state forcing millions of its law abiding citizens to spend extra time and money going to the doctor to get a common cold medicine.
Naturally there are some that question the success of the Appriss system within the first month of its full implementation. State police claim they are not getting data about the purchases in a useful format yet. They are working with the tracking system’s technology provider to fix the bugs, said police 1st Sgt. Niki Crawford, who leads the meth suppression section. “We have not found it helpful. I haven’t received any records I can use from them yet,” Crawford said. Not helpful after 12,000 boxes were stopped in January? Jim Acquisto, the spokesman for Appriss Inc., said the criticism it has received so far in Indiana is unfair. “If you’re buying cold medicine for somebody else and they’re going to make meth with it, that’s a crime, and those folks can be identified through the system,” he said. “More aggressive law enforcement agencies that use the system, that’s how they find the smurfers.”
Unsurprisingly the expected start-up glitches have caught the attention of politicians. Rep. Ron Bacon, R-Chandler filed a bill that would have allowed local ordinances to require prescriptions. Thankfully, it appears to have died this session. Common sense could have gotten Rep Bacon through this problem.
It’s not the medicine that’s the problem, it’s how it’s being misused. That’s already illegal.
Let’s take a quick look at how Rep Bacon voted on SB 437, the authorization for the expansion of the toll system. Although we agree with Rep Bacon on this bill, the timeline to roll this out is illuminating. When it comes to a state project like this, Rep Bacon believes the state should have until June 2021 to complete its project. That’s nine years. Since SB 437 started in July, 2011, can we assume Rep Bacon will be introducing legislation next month complaining the toll system isn’t giving a bureaucrat the right reports? That’s ridiculous. The state gave the 1,200 pharmacies until Jan 1, 2012 to adopt the Appriss system, then a politician like Rep Bacon complains 30 days later not everything is perfect. We’d suggest that Rep Bacon give this invaluable program the time it needs to be fully implemented. Clearly 30 days isn’t enough. That’s ridiculous too.