NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tennessee State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) today issued the following statement in response to legislation introduced by State Senator Doug Overbey (R-Maryville) that would require a prescription for all cold and allergy medicine containing pseudoephedrine (PSE).

Senator Beavers was the original Senate sponsor of anti-meth legislation that implemented a real-time pseudoephedrine tracking system in Tennessee, a meth-offender registry and strict penalties for meth-related crime. Beavers was also a part of a group of opinion leaders who launched Tennessee's Anti-Smurfing Campaign—a public awareness campaign designed to curb the criminal process known as smurfing, or when individuals purchase PSE-based products on behalf of meth cooks.

"While I certainly agree with Senator Overbey and others that something must be done to further address Tennessee's meth problem, a prescription requirement would place a significant burden on law-abiding Tennessee families and fail to address the core causes of the problem," said Beavers. "Forcing honest citizens to pay to see a doctor every time they have congestion is an unreasonable policy that punishes responsible consumers for the crimes of a criminal minority. It does nothing to deal with the near-constant flow of meth from across the Mexican border, or the treatment of those who suffer from serious drug addiction. It is the same policy that was rejected during last year's legislative session after it was determined that it was both imbalanced and ineffective."

"If we are serious about curbing meth abuse, then we need to be serious about strengthening our current policies. We should not be concerned with passing new laws until we fully apply those already on the books, such as the state's meth offender registry. Policies that unfairly penalize law-abiding citizens for crimes they did not commit represent the worst kind of government overreach. We need to pursue laws that target criminals if we want to see real progress in this fight."

SOURCE Tennessee State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet)