RICHMOND — Rising numbers of methamphetamine lab busts in Virginia during the past year have lawmakers looking to require a prescription for pseudoephedrine.

Sen. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville, proposed legislation Tuesday that would prohibit the purchase of pseudoephedrine medication unless the consumer has a prescription from a doctor.

Virginia residents now have to provide a written statement and identification to purchase pseudoephedrine products, like Sudafed or similar cold medicines, over the counter.

“Taking away patient freedom by requiring prescriptions for important over-the-counter medications is not a solution to the meth problem,” Mike Tringale, vice president of external affairs for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, said.

In a recent allergy foundation study of allergy, asthma, cold, cough and flu patients, found that patients are concerned with having ready access to the medication.

Participants in the study also said they would like to see lawmakers find ways other than “prescription only” to deal with the methamphetamine problem and not take away the over-the-counter medications.

Bonnie Favero of Piedmont Community Services disagrees. She said that pseudoephedrine is not a “life-saving drug” but a “convenient drug.” People, she said, won’t suffer if they cannot obtain it easily.

Favero said that the National Clandestine Laboratory Register, which tracks the number of illicit drug labs for the Drug Enforcement Administration, reported 54 meth labs found in Virginia in 2010, compared to four in 2009.

Ralph Orr, director of the Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program, said that rather than requiring a prescription for pseudoephedrine medications, many states, including Kentucky, Illinois and Louisiana use an electronic tracking system to enforce purchase limitations on over-the-counter medicines containing pseudoephedrine as they are purchased.

However, Favero worries that the preventive tracking measures aren’t enough.

“Drug dealers are smart and drug makers are smart, and they have found away to get around” the ID requirements and tracking systems, she said.

According to Favero, police found 15 meth labs in the past 30 days in Floyd, Craig and Montgomery counties — home to Virginia Tech and Radford University. She argues that college students purchase large quantities of pseudoephedrine for the drug makers, making tracking the purchases ineffective.

Only two states, Mississippi and Oregon, have made pseudoephedrine prescription only. Favero said both states saw significant drops in meth labs within a year of implementing the law.