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Thursday, April 17, 2008

Ind. Law - "Vigo’s Ephedrine ordinance could be revamped"

Howard Greninger reports today in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star in a story that begins:

A county ordinance aimed at ingredients used in over-the-counter allergy and congestion medicines should be amended to account for sellers of the product, said Vigo County Sheriff Jon Marvel.

The sheriff wants to hold sellers responsible for the number of packages sold weekly

“There is a loophole in [the ordinance] we found … that makes it difficult to enforce, as [the ordinance] is not specific enough,” Marvel said.

Vigo’s 2004 ordinance targets ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine hydrochloride, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, pseudoephedrine sulfate and phenylpropanolamine, substances used to make methamphetamine.

The county ordinance was passed before a state law that also targets meth ingredients.

Vigo is the only county with a local ordinance because it was passed before the state law took effect.

Later in the story:
The county attorney will prepare an amendment, however he voiced concern about “what effect the state ordinance might have, if that precludes us from amending our ordinance. I will check into that.”

[County Attorney Robert Wright] said if county officials want the amendment, it could place the county under the state law, which means the county prosecutor’s office would be responsible for enforcing the law, instead of the county attorney.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 17, 2008 09:10 AM
Posted to Indiana Law