Senator Chuck Grassley is backing a move to force pharmacies and other retailers to more closely monitor sales of over-the-counter medications that contain cough suppressants. Grassley is proposing new federal penalties for retailers who knowingly or intentionally sell D-X-M, the active ingredient in over-the-counter cough medicine, to minors.
"It is common sense…that a pharmacist ought to be on top of it, but if they aren’t I think we ought to take corrective action," Grassley says. Wednesday, Grassley will participate in a hearing to call attention to the growing number of teens who abuse over-the-counter cough medicines, along with teen abuse of prescription drugs.
"We’re learning that it’s not always the illegal drug that parents need to worry about that their kids might be using," Grassley says. "Sometimes it’s the substance sitting on the shelf of their medical cabinet that they ought to be worrying about." The director of the Clinton Area Substance Abuse Council will testify at Wednesday’s hearing.