KTUL.com - Tulsa's Channel 8 - News, Weather & SportsDA Tim Harris Furious With Local Lawmakers, Meth Bill Fails

Tulsa's District Attorney is fighting mad, in the war on meth. Tim Harris is angry that a bill failed. It would have made the key ingredients in meth, prescription only.

That would include many cold tablets currently over the counter.

Since 2008, Harris says there have been 7 deaths in Tulsa County due to meth, including a 15 month old baby last year.

The idea of making pseudoephedrine prescription only is not a new one.

Harris says, no, it would not stop our meth epidemic, but it would stop our meth lab problem.

"In my 27 years this is the sole issue that all elected DAs in the state of Oklahoma have ever come together unanimously and supported," says Harris.

He is speaking out against the recent house committee vote, saying no to pseudoephedrine becoming prescription only.
     
Harris says out of 902 meth labs in Oklahoma 428 of those were in the city of Tulsa.
     
"That enough should have convinced representative Derby, Ritze and Peters, to give this a fair hearing they all are from Tulsa County," says Harris. "Tulsa is the meth capital of Oklahoma."

Representative David Derby of Owasso says he doesn't think making pseudoephedrine a prescription is the answer.  
     
He says it will place a burden on doctors and cost more money.

"Whether its your personal, private insurance or Medicaid, 59 more million dollars a year to handle that particular issue," says Derby.

One former meth addict likes the idea.

"Make it by prescription only, that would help so many women like myself, so many kids," says Carla Traupman.

She was a meth user for 10 years and has been clean for 9. She says make it prescription only and people can always use other medicines.

"Because I abuse meth I don't use pseudoephedrine there are many other products out there over the counter that you can use if you have a cold," says Traupman.

Harris agrees.

"I've still got a cold today and I'm not feeling 100% but guess what, I can breathe, pseudoephedrine free," says Harris.

He says his biggest problem with the vote is that it didn't stand a chance.

"You know another thing since I'm venting, this used to be in the public safety committee," explains Harris, until this year the legislation moved to the public health committee. "Lo and behold the public health committee is stacked with individuals that have already come out publicly against making pseudoephedrine a prescription."

Harris claims the committee members were also persuaded by pharmaceutical lobbyists.

"To say that I am for sale one it's a slap in the face and quite honestly it makes me mad," says Derby.

He says his voters didn't want this bill to pass.

"We do not want to have to go to a physician wait two hours to go get a prescription then go wait in the pharmacy when its over the counter and it's safe and effective," says Derby.

"If they wanted to vote against it on the house floor, I would have respected that, but they worked political chicanery, to make sure that they never even made it to the house floor," says Harris.

Harris says he will look into ethics reports to see exactly who and if any House members have received money from pharmaceutical companies.

Other states like Mississippi and Oregon, have passed laws making pseudoephedrine prescription only.

The number of meth labs in Oregon dropped 95% after they passed the law.