As a veteran police officer, I have witnessed first-hand the terrible effect that methamphetamine can have on an individual, a family and a community.
My colleagues and I are often on the front lines in the battle against this drug — using every tool we have to locate and arrest meth criminals.
My experience has taught me that we need to do more to fight meth, yet I still do not believe in punishing the innocent for the crimes of the guilty. For that reason, I cannot support a prescription mandate for medicine containing pseudoephedrine (PSE).
Making PSE a prescription drug is an extreme policy that does not achieve its intended goals. Forcing families to pay to see a doctor for common cold and allergy medicine will not solve Michigan’s meth problem.
Take a look at the states that have already implemented similar policies.
In Oregon and Mississippi, the only two states where PSE is prescription-only, police continue to arrest meth cooks and meth users every day.
I speak from experience when I say we need to strengthen the tools that we have, instead of introducing new, more restrictive policies with dubious success rates.
Honest families should not have to pay for the actions of criminals.

James Millin
Chief of Niles Police