Pubdate: Fri, 11 Feb 2005
Source: Cleveland Daily Banner (TN)
Copyright: 2005 Cleveland Daily Banner
Contact:  http://www.clevelandbanner.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/947
Author: David Davis, Managing Editor
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

GWYN: LIMITING LEGAL DRUG ACCESS COULD LESSEN LABS

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn said Tuesday it
would be impossible to completely eliminate the manufacture of
methamphetamine, but restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine tablets
would hopefully lessen the number of labs in the state.

Gwyn is raising public awareness of a proposal in the General Assembly
that is based on an Oklahoma law that went into effect in 2004. The
law limits the sale of products containing pseudoephedrine to
pharmacies and places the over-the-counter medicines behind the counter.

"If it reduces the number of labs like it did in Oklahoma by 70 or 80
percent, there won't be that many labs to find," Gwyn said. "But, I
think we'll still be out there finding them just as we are finding
them now. There will always be people who will get their hands on
pseudoephedrine, whether they go across borders or what."

One of the most effective methods of identifying meth cooks is through
Meth Watch, which is a partnership between the retail industry and the
public.

"People call in with tips, and we find a lot of labs based on those
tips. It's hard to hide a meth lab. The odor is unlike one you've ever
smelled before. Most people don't want them near their homes, and they
call," he said. "We'll still be getting labs, I'm sure."

Two organizations interested in the proposal to place restrictions on
the sale of products containing pseudoephedrine are the Tennessee
Retailers Association and Tennessee Pharmacists Association. Both
organizations participate in the Meth Watch program. Neither group is
opposed to restricting the sale of Sudafed tablets, however, they are
opposed to restricting the sale of all over-the-counter cold remedies
containing pseudoephedrine.

Retailers Association President Russell Palk, who represents major
chain pharmacies and grocery stores said, "Retailers are ready to
stand up, but would like to see something less stringent than putting
all the products containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter.

"But, if that's what the governor decides to be done, that's what
we'll do."

Palk will urge the legislature to adopt less stringent options similar
to Illinois. In that state, retailers only put one or two boxes of a
product on the shelf, use video monitoring or electronic theft
prevention devices to prevent shoplifting of products to manufacture
meth.

"There are all sorts of ways of controlling access that would still
allow consumers to purchase other-the-counter cold remedies."

Tennessee Pharmacists Association Executive Director Baeteena Black
said the brand name of Sudafed, manufactured by Pfizer Inc., is the
most widely used decongestant in the world. It's also the most
effective decongestant on the market.

She said the most obvious solution is to restrict the sale of
pseudoephedrine. The control of prescription drugs has been placed in
the care of pharmacies for quite some time.

"We recommend restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine products in
pharmacies only," she said. "Pharmacies are already required by
federal law and have been self-monitoring for several years."

Black said there is a need to balance stopping a huge problem with the
need for consumers to purchase an over-the-counter drug.

"If everyone has to purchase Sudafed from the pharmacist, then that
takes time away from what the pharmacist should be doing," she said.

Neither group is opposed to keeping transaction records, but they do
not want to see anything cumbersome. Both would welcome an electronic
database, but the technology is not available in Tennessee.

Pharmacies use such a database to monitor the sale of scheduled drugs,
but it cannot be used to monitor the sale of over-the-counter
medicines. Oklahoma lawmakers solved that problem by making
pseudoephedrine a scheduled drug, according to Palk.

Black said pharmacists have been working on a controlled access
database funded by pharmacists for two years, but it is still not
online because of technical difficulties.

Palk said the technology to collect personal information is not
available in Tennessee. He said it would be relatively easy if
driver's licenses could be electronically scanned like a credit card
as they are in other states.

He does not want to see pharmacists doing the job of law enforcement.
For example, a pharmacist in Oklahoma was reprimanded for selling more
than the legal limit to an individual.

Black said she is optimistic a way will be found that is cost
effective and not an inconvenience to the general public.

"Dumping 200-plus cold medicines in the back of the pharmacy would be
a logistical nightmare," Palk said. "There are all kinds of
alternative ways to monitoring instead of, in lieu of, or in
conjunction with putting them behind the counter. We would like to see
something more flexible, but we will do what we have to do."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin