A Senate committee has voted to allow states to have more restrictive laws than the feds when it comes to selling over-the-counter medications used to make meth. Iowa’s new law that put meds that contain pseudoephedrine behind the counter led to a 75 percent drop in illegal meth lab busts in just the first month. Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat, says the Senate Judiciary Committee approved an amendment this (Thursday) morning that ensures state laws wouldn’t be tossed aside by a weaker federal standard when it comes to sales of products that contain pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient for meth. “Iowa’s law is the toughest and the best in the nation and this amendment will ensure that it is not weakened in any way,” Harkin says. “At the same time, the federal law which will help control meth labs in our neighbor states has taken a big step towards being passed.” Major retailers have been pressuring congress to enact a nationwide standard rather than the hodge-podge of state to state law that are beginning to take effect.

Radio Iowa