Pubdate: Sun, 23 Nov 2003
Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
Section: Crime & Courts
Copyright: 2003 The Des Moines Register.
Contact: http://DesMoinesRegister.com/help/letter.html
Website: http://desmoinesregister.com/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/123
Author: Colleen Krantz, Register Staff Writer
Note: Part of a series on methamphetamine - see 
http://www.mapinc.org/source/Des+Moines+Register

MAKE COLD PILLS HARDER TO GET, OFFICIALS URGE

Cedar Rapids, Ia. - The companies whose over-the-counter medicines are used 
to make methamphetamine should do more to curb the illegal use of their 
products, several Iowa law enforcement and health officials say.

Meth "cooks" use pseudoephedrine, a decongestant found in everything from 
Sudafed to Advil Cold and Sinus, to make the illegal stimulant. Federal 
Drug Enforcement Administration agent Rick LaMere suspects the meth 
epidemic is good business for makers of those legal drugs.

"There are people whose hands are clean who are making millions off these 
addicts," said LaMere, who is based in Cedar Rapids. "Something needs to 
change."

LaMere and others are frustrated by a perceived reluctance by drug 
companies and retailers to aggressively clamp down on over-the-counter drugs.

"If I could snap my fingers, I would say anything with ephedrine isn't sold 
over the counter," said Charles Hallberg, a Cedar Rapids attorney who has 
defended many meth-addicted clients in criminal cases. "But there are 
millions or billions in profits, and the drug companies aren't going to let 
that happen."

An organization representing many of the companies said that profits have 
not jumped in connection with the meth epidemic. Shoplifting is a common 
problem with these medicines, said Nancy Bukar, director of government 
affairs for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.

Cold and cough medicines - regardless of whether they contained 
pseudoephedrine - accounted for $3.01 billion in over-the-counter drug 
sales in 2002, according to the association's figures from reporting 
companies. That's down from 2001, when the sales reached $3.07 billion.

Laws that restrict sales aren't any better than voluntary programs, Bukar 
said. A better solution is reducing meth demand by focusing on education 
and treatment, she said.

Drug companies have contributed $450,000 this year for a new Consumer 
Healthcare Products Association campaign warning teens and parents about meth.

If the restrictive laws are in place, Bukar said, "you can still sell the 
product, but I think it's a burden on retailers and consumers without any 
proven effect."

East Coast DEA agents say they work with the drug industry on voluntary 
programs designed to curb illegal manufacturing of meth and also try to 
educate them on the law.

"They may not import, distribute and sell this with the knowledge that it's 
going to be used to make illicit drugs," said Scott Collier, chief of the 
DEA's chemical control section.

The agency has recently cracked down on the flow of pseudoephedrine from 
Canada. China is likely to be the next source targeted, officials said.

Congress in 1996 passed the Methamphetamine Control Act, requiring 
retailers to keep records and report on anyone buying a certain amount of 
pseudoephedrine. To avoid paperwork, many retailers set their own limits on 
the number of packages that can be purchased at a time. Some have cash 
registers programmed to notify clerks when the limit is passed.

Seven states have laws limiting sales of products containing 
pseudoephedrine. Missouri also restricts displays. Rep. Clel Baudler, a 
Republican from Greenfield, wants Iowa to impose sales restrictions.

Gene Lutz, an Altoona-based pharmacist who will become president of the 
American Pharmacists Association in March, supports regulation, perhaps 
allowing products to be sold only in stores with pharmacists. Such a step 
would exclude most convenience stores.

Law enforcement officials in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo have 
charged convenience store owners or clerks with improperly selling 
pseudoephedrine that the workers knew would be used to make meth.

The federal law requiring stores to get information about customers who buy 
more than 9 grams - or 366 30-milligram pills - does not apply to medicine 
packaged in the so-called blister packs, in which tablets are individually 
sealed in plastic and foil.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, with Iowa Sens. Grassley and Tom 
Harkin as co-sponsors, proposed requiring personal information to be 
recorded when large amounts of pseudoephedrine-containing cold medicine are 
sold in blister packs.

Others say the companies shouldn't be punished when legitimate products are 
used illegally.

"You're asking about a company that has a product with a useful, legal 
purpose being used for an illegal purpose, and I'm not sure you can blame 
them any more than you can blame car companies for accidents," Grassley said.

Iowa law enforcement officials estimate that the number of meth labs might 
be cut in half if pseudoephedrine were more difficult to obtain. Last year, 
1,009 meth labs were seized or cleaned up in Iowa.

Dean Salsberry, with the Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force in Burlington, 
said that while the companies shouldn't be blamed for the epidemic, recent 
changes raise questions.

"The timing is suspicious that all of a sudden they are manufacturing pills 
that are about four times the potency that they used to be," Salsberry said.

Pseudoephedrine used to be available over the counter in 30-milligram 
tablets. Tablets with 120 milligrams are now routinely sold over the 
counter. The stronger pills are designed to release the medicine over time, 
so a person doesn't have to take as many lower-strength tablets in a day, 
said Lorna Totman, senior director of scientific affairs for the Consumer 
Healthcare Products Association.

Lutz, the Altoona pharmacist, doesn't believe the larger doses are tied to 
an attempt by drug companies to make money off the epidemic. He also doubts 
that recent price increases are related.

The Food and Drug Administration "removed from over-the-counter another 
major decongestant, phenylpropanolamine, so the only decongestant left was 
pseudoephedrine," Lutz said. Consequently, he said, "prices probably 
started to climb when they changed all those products that had 
phenylpropanolamine."

The FDA asked drug companies to remove phenylpropanolamine from products 
because of evidence that it may cause strokes. Ephedrine, related to 
pseudoephedrine, is being examined for the possibility that it can cause 
strokes or heart problems.

Stores have their own incentive to keep an eye on the medication, 
particularly if shoplifting becomes a problem.

"It's a high-cost product, and stores watch it closely," said Jerry 
Fleagle, president of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association. If stores 
begin missing a product, "they know they've got a problem and usually take 
measures to rectify that."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake