Conway, Stumbo say Yonts' pseudoephedrine bill doesn't do enough to stop smurfing

State Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, has proposed a bill that would make people who have been convicted of meth-related crime to get a prescription to buy pseudoephedrine, but Attorney General Jack Conway and House Speaker Greg Stumbo both told cn|2's "Pure Politics" that the bill wouldn't do much to fight the problem.

"It's not enough," Conway said. "We need to prevent smurfing. We saw the number of meth labs in this state double last year." Smurfing is the use of surrogates to buy ingredients on behalf of those who might otherwise not be allowed to bu

"It's a start, but it's not enough," Stumbo said of Yonts' bill. "I mean, if they were convicted of it, chances are they would still be in jail. But that's kind of like closing the door after the fox has already gotten into the chicken house."

Pseudoephedrine is the key ingredient used to make methamphetamine and is found in many cold medicines, including Sudafed. There are limits for how much of the medicine each person can buy each month, but that has not stopped the problem, Conway say.

As for how the problem will be addressed in the upcoming legislative session, Stumbo said he thinks "The stars are lined up to where we'll have a good, comprehensive bill," but "I don't know what it's going to look like." (Read more)