MARQUETTE -- John Kivela, 109th District State Representative, is working on his first bill, aimed at cutting down the manufacture of methamphetamine.
The bill would make Sudafed and other cold medicine that contains ephedrine available by prescription only. The cold medicines containing ephedrine are the key ingredient used in the manufacture of meth.
Kivela has looked at how other states have been fighting the growing meth epidemic, and that comes down to the ingredients.
"Oregon is the only other state in the nation that has done this, and since they enacted this law, they've seen their meth problem drop by 97 percent," said Rep. Kivela. "I knew this was the first issue that I wanted to tackle because we're seeing this in our court systems, we're seeing houses burning, people being burned, families being torn apart, lives being lost. It is a devastating, highly-addictive drug."
Kivela added that after meeting with local municipalities and drug enforcement teams, the cost of meth cleanup often exceeds what governments have budgeted. Kivela is working on gathering support for the bill, but it still has to go before the House and Senate for approval.
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