In the first half of 2015, Tennessee’s National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) system blocked the sale of 54,701 boxes of PSE, totaling 148,456 grams, from being purchased illegally.
State Rep. William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) applauded the continued success of Tennessee’s real-time, stop-sale pseudoephedrine blocking system.
Thirty-two states from across the country – including Tennessee – are linked together through NPLEx to automatically stop the illegal purchase of pseudoephedrine (PSE) directly at the point of sale.
Tennessee also uses NPLEx to ban the over the counter sale of any PSE containing medications to all meth offenders and drug felons. PSE is used by some criminals to make meth and as a result, Tennessee and federal law limits the amount of grams of PSE that can be legally purchased each month and year. NPLEx ensures that those limits are not exceeded and illegally purchased PSE ends up in the hands of meth makers. Even more importantly, prosecutors can employ NPLEx to help convict meth criminals.
Rep. Lamberth said, “NPLEx has been one of the many reasons that Tennessee has seen a decline in meth lab seizures in recent years. While we must continue to decrease domestic lab production, our state – and our country – needs to work together to address drug addiction issues, particularly as we continue to see a growing influx of meth from Mexico. By making sure that addicts are properly treated and our youth do not become addicted, we can eliminate the demand for the drug in Tennessee and across the country. I commend Gov. Bill Haslam, my colleagues in the Tennessee General Assembly and our state’s law enforcement agencies for their ongoing commitment to fighting addiction.”