Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein issued the following statement today after President Obama signed legislation she authored to require all retail sellers of products containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine to verify that they train their staff and comply with legal requirements of the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2006.

Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, found in cold medicines, are ingredients commonly used to make methamphetamine.  Mail-order retailers were able to exploit a loophole to avoid the self-certification requirement mandated by the Combat Meth Act.  The new law – the Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act - closes that loophole and takes other steps to ensure that all retailers comply with the law.

“I was proud to introduce the Combat Meth Act in 2006, which has helped reduce domestic meth supply by putting many cold medicines behind the drugstore counter.  The law signed by President Obama today builds on that law to ensure that every retailer who orders pre-cursor products that can be used to make methamphetamine must comply with the law before they can buy and resell the products.”

“All retailers should be subject to this law – whether they are a store on a neighborhood corner or a store on the internet – and face a penalty if they do not comply.  It shouldn’t be easy to buy or produce methamphetamines.  This law clamps down on retailers who have evaded these requirements.”

“I applaud President Obama for continuing the battle against meth abuse and production, which wreaks havoc on families across the country.”

The Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act builds on the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act that went into effect in 2006.  It clarifies that all retailers, including mail order retailers, who sell products that contain chemicals often used to make methamphetamine-like ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine  must self-certify that they have trained their personnel and will comply with the Combat Meth Act's requirements; require distributors to sell these products only to retailers who have certified that they will comply with the law; require the DEA to publish the list of all retailers who have filed self-certifications on the DEA's website; and clarify that any retailer who negligently fails to file self-certification as required, may be subject to civil fines and penalties.

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