11:09 am
Fri July 6, 2012

Pseudoephe​drine Limits Go Into Effect This Thursday

On Thursday, dozens of laws passed in this year's legislative session will become active.

One of those laws limits the amount of pseudoephedrine a person can buy from a pharmacy. Pseudoephedrine, or PSE, is used in many cold and allergy medicines. It's also a key part of meth production.

The new law limits adults to seven point two grams a month, which is roughly the equivalent of a box, before requiring a prescription.

But for people like Pat Davis, the new limits are a problem. Davis lives in Northern Kentucky, and has several children with asthma and chronic allergies,

This law is going to place an additional burden in terms of time and finances on me and I imagine most Kentucky families, she says.

The law was hotly debated during the session and Davis and others fought against the bill. Most of Davis' family suffers from asthma or chronic allergies. They use pseudoephedrine products to curb those symptoms.

Davis says the medicines are necessary for her family's health, and she plans to buy close to the current 100 gram limit before the new law goes into effect.

Absolutely I'm buying the maximum amount that I can by law prior to the 12th because of my concern. This is an item I normally keep in my house, frankly it's a staple, it's like milk or bread, I keep it on hand, she says.

Lawmakers originally wanted to make pseudoephedrine only available by prescription, but couldn't get enough votes to pass that version of the bill.