Illinois Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act

The Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act (MPCA, 720 ILCS 648) is an Illinois state law that was signed into law on November 16, 2005, and took effect on January 15, 2006. The MPCA is an act used to create significant barriers such as the requirement to present ID to purchase cold medication that contains pseudoephedrine (Sudafed, Tylenol Cold and Claritin D) which could be used to produce methamphetamine. This is one of many state laws regulating the supply of pseudoephedrine that preceded the federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005.

The Act was introduced as Senate Bill 273.

Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act - Amended

In 2008, the Illinois state legislature amended the MPCA creating a regional authority to establish a pilot program that targets individuals who are circumventing the law. As a result, the Southern Illinois counties of Williamson, Jackson, Union, Saline, Franklin, and Johnson, comprise the Illinois Meth Precursor Control Pilot Authority (IMPCPA). The IMPCPA administers methamphetamine precursor control strategies that assist law enforcement in reducing the number of methamphetamine manufacturing labs in Southern Illinois. This strategy employs an automated pseudoephedrine purchase tracking system that identifies purchase patterns associated with smurfing. Smurfing is a tactic used by small batch labs to obtain significant amounts of pseudoephedrine. Individuals, known as smurfs, make small pseudoephedrine purchases at numerous pharmacies. These legal purchases are then combined to manufacture meth.

External links