A bill passed by the Iowa House Thursday may change the procedure of selling and purchasing common cold medications.

Pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in Sudafed and generic brands of cold medicine, can be used to manufacture methamphetamine.

“Meth is probably one of the most hideous drugs to hit this state,” said Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield.

The bill would attempt to control meth in Iowa by allowing no more than two packages of medication with pseudoephedrine as the sole active ingredient to be sold or purchased in one transaction.

If that rule is violated, the buyer and/or the seller can be charged with a simple misdemeanor, punishable by a $100 fine, the bill states.

Although the bill must gain the final approval of the Senate to become law, some stores have already taken action.

As of Jan. 26, Hy-Vee Pharmacies required all its stores across the country to put pseudoephedrine products behind the counter, said Veronica McGee, Hy-Vee pharmacist. Customers must document their name, address, the date of purchase and quantity of pseudoephedrine products when making a purchase.

Products containing pseudoephedrine in combination with other active ingredients are locked in a case and are monitored by a camera.

These measures have been taken to not only control buying pseudoephedrine for the manufacturing of meth, but to control theft as well.

“It would just walk out,” McGee said. “We would find empty boxes stuffed behind shelves or in the bathrooms.”

The west Ames Hy-Vee, 3800 Lincoln Way, began locking up pseudoephedrine products nine months ago, long before the bill passed the House in a 97-0 vote, McGee said.

If a retailer violates the law, a $100 civil penalty is assessed. If a person is charged with stealing more than two packages of pseudoephedrine products, the penalty is a serious misdemeanor.

Iowa ranks second in the nation in reported meth labs with 1,266 reports of labs, Baudler said. Missouri, the No. 1 state, has had 2,700 reports of labs, and California is third with 1,247 reports.

“I think this is the first step in a long road,” Baudler said.

Terry Witkowski, administrative assistant at the Iowa Board of Pharmacy Examiners, said a decision is expected by the end of May.