WHEREAS, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine are found in both prescription and over-the-counter products, including those frequently used to relieve nasal or sinus congestion caused by the common cold, sinusitis, hay fever, and other respiratory allergies; and

WHEREAS, the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 (CMEA) was enacted in 2006 to limit the availability of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine, because these substances are commonly used to make methamphetamine, a powerful, highly addictive stimulant, often manufactured in covert, illegal laboratories throughout the United States; and

WHEREAS, the long-term use of methamphetamine may cause addiction, anxiety, insomnia, violent behavior, paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, depression, brain damage and death; and

WHEREAS, the CMEA banned the over-the-counter sales of products which contain pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine, such as cold and allergy medicines; limited the quantity of these products that each individual is permitted to purchase behind-the-counter during a specified period of time; and required sellers to maintain a purchase log book to track the amount of purchases made by each individual to ensure compliance with the CMEAs quantity limitations; and

WHEREAS, drug traffickers are bypassing the CMEAs quantity limitations by a practice called smurfing wherein several individuals purchase small quantities of products containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine from multiple sellers, thereby undermining the ability of each seller to track the total amount of purchases made by an individual purchaser; and

WHEREAS, some States have successfully prevented the practice of smurfing by enacting legislation requiring sellers to maintain a real-time, electronic log book for all such purchases; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) duly assembled at its 116th Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado, urges the Congress of the United States to pass the necessary legislation to establish, under the appropriate federal regulatory entity, a nationwide real-time, electronic log book to record purchases of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine sales; to provide for the maintenance of and access to the real-time electronic log book; and to set criminal penalties for the intentional violation of the CMEAs quantity limitations.

Submitted by: Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee

NDD.003.a09