PORTLAND, Ore. – Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed legislation Tuesday that will make Oregon the first state to require prescriptions for everyday cold and allergy medications that can be converted into methamphetamine.

The requirement applies to any medication containing pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in making meth.

Oregon and several other states already require consumers to show identification and sign a log when obtaining over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines such as Sudafed and Claritin D from pharmacies, and Congress is moving toward similar restrictions.

Maine Gov. John Baldacci in June signed legislation placing several restrictions on over-the-counter decongestant cold medicines that can be used to make methamphetamine. Maine’s law does not require prescriptions for the sale of the cold remedies. It authorizes but does not require pharmacies to request identification and log sales of those products.

Oregon’s governor said he was aware that the law might cause inconvenience for allergy and cold sufferers but said pharmaceutical companies already are producing replacement medications that don’t contain pseudoephedrine and can’t be converted to meth.

The bill sailed though both houses of the Legislature, opposed by only a handful of lawmakers who cited the inconvenience for their constituents.

The state board of pharmacy has until next July to implement the prescription requirement, but board executive director Gary Schnabel said it could be in place within three months.

Patients will be allowed up to five refills in a six-month period, Schnabel said.

Tom Holt, executive director of the Oregon State Pharmacy Association, said he thinks the law will drive pseudoephedrine-containing products off the market within a year or two.

While increasing amounts of methamphetamine come from Mexico, bill supporters say the law could sharply reduce the number of home meth labs, where the chemicals used in the process can pose severe health problems.

Maine’s law, which was cosponsored by more than half of the legislators, restricts the sale of multiple-dose packages of targeted methamphetamine precursors to blister packs containing no more than 3 grams and allows no more than three packages to be sold in a single transaction.

Medicines containing the meth ingredients must be sold by a pharmacist, pharmacy technician or someone under their supervision. It also requires that the product be stored in a location that’s locked or otherwise inaccessible to the public.