Pubdate: Mon, 07 Feb 2005
Source: Enid News & Eagle (OK)
Copyright: Enid News & Eagle 2005
Contact:  http://www.enidnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2012
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

WALGREENS NEEDS TO TAKE STEPS TO CORRECT ITS PROBLEMS AND TRAINING

A first-of-its-kind operation has put Enid at the forefront of the
battle against methamphetamine manufacturing.

A recent raid by the Enid Police Department targeted people who were
attempting to circumvent Oklahoma's law limiting the sale of cold
medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making meth.

The operation came about from an investigation started by Officer
Jason Priest. Priest has been tracking pseudoephedrine sales by
checking logs kept by pharmacies. He identified more than 100 people
who had made large purchases of pseudoephedrine -- much more than they
legally were allowed to buy and much more than could possibly be used
for fighting a cold.

Priest has drawn considerable praise from members of the community for
his work -- much of which came on his own time. We would like to add
our congratulations as well. This is a prime example of going above
and beyond what is expected in service to the community.

Enid residents should consider themselves lucky we have people like
Jason Priest working to make our community a better place.

The operation conducted by EPD also pointed out a major problem.
Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics leveled charges against Walgreens for
what officials said were violations of the law limiting
pseudoephedrine sales.

OBN officials said Walgreens accounted for 97 percent of Enid's
illegal pseudoephedrine sales. Now, the company faces a Feb. 23
hearing to determine if the Enid store will have its registration to
dispense some drugs suspended or revoked.

Walgreens officials have acknowledged they used improper information
about pseudoephedrine sales in their training and have put in new
procedures to address the OBN allegations.

We have to take Walgreens officials to task for not making sure their
training program was correct. The state law restricting
pseudoephedrine sales was a long time in coming. There was ample time
to clarify any information and potential problems.

We hope Walgreens officials are taking these allegations seriously and
will make sure their new procedures are strictly enforced.
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MAP posted-by: Derek