Alabama Looks to Make Cold Medicines "Prescription-Only"

It's been more than a year since Scott Holston was forced to take Sudafed and medications like it off the shelves of his pharmacy in Pascagoula and change them to prescription-only. But the Mississippi law has hardly inconvenienced him or his customers.

"Getting the Sudafed has not been hard for the people who really need it," said Pharmacist Scott Holston. "Their family doctors know them, they know their condition, and never had a problem calling it in for them."

Good thing, because Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd says restricting access to the drug is working wonders in the fight against Meth.

"For us as a law enforcement agency, the State of Mississippi, the Bureau of Narcotics, the FBI. All of them will tell you that it has been beneficial in this law getting passed," said Sheriff Byrd.

In fact, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics says Meth cases are down 66% since the new law took effect.

"A lot of people kind of got upset about it that you had to have a prescription," said Sheriff Byrd. "But there's 24 other cold medications that people can get without a prescription that do the same thing as Sudafed."

But you have to have pseudoephedrine to make Meth. Individually, each product used to make Meth is perfectly legal. But when mixed together and processed, the results are extremely dangerous.

"It's a stimulant," said Physician Derek Gordon. "It causes a heightened sense of awareness, it gives you more energy, and its extraordinarily addictive."

Side effects of the drug include anorexia, convulsions, rotting teeth, and itchy skin. Experts say once you start using the drug, the success rate of ever breaking the addiction is less than 7%.

The overwhelming success of Mississippi's law has inspired lawmakers in other states to do the same - including Alabama. Lawmakers in Montgomery will discuss the issue during the 2012 session in February.