The association of pseudoephedrine sales restrictions on emergency department urine drug screen results in Oklahoma.
On June 15, 2004, Oklahoma became the first state to reclassify pseudoephedrine as a Schedule V drug. Arrests in Oklahoma for the manufacture of methamphetamines in clandestine laboratories precipitously declined. It was hypothesized that a decrease in methamphetamine use could be shown in the patient population in Oklahoma's largest emergency department. To test this hypothesis, all urine drug screen results in the Saint Francis Hospital Trauma Emergency Center from January 2003 through May 2005 were reviewed. There was a significant increase in the total tests performed and the percentage of positive test results for the amphetamine drug class (p = 0.0004, R2 = 0.3785) over time. These results suggest that methamphetamine usage has not decreased in the emergency department patient population. Possibly, methamphetamine usage in Oklahoma has not been impacted by the passage of HB 2176 due to an increase in drug trafficking of methamphetamine into the state.
Brandenburg
M A
MA
Oklahoma Institute of Disaster and Emergency Medicine, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine-Tulsa, Schusterman Center, OK 74135-2553, USA.
Brown
S J
SJ
Arneson
W L
WL
Arneson
D L
DL
D000662:Amphetamines / Q000652:urine; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000652:urine; D014663:Nasal Decongestants / Q000191:economics*; D009825:Oklahoma; D054199:Pseudoephedrine / Q000191:economics*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection
D000662:Amphetamines; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D014663:Nasal Decongestants; D054199:Pseudoephedrine