Pubdate: Sat, 19 Feb 2005
Source: Joplin Globe, The (MO)
Copyright: 2005 The Joplin Globe
Contact:  http://www.joplinglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/859
Author: Derek Spellman

STATE WEIGHS COLD WAR ON METH

Missouri legislation would limit access to cold medicines

Sue and Jerry Harmon know something about the ingredients in cold medicines,
and not just because they work in a Webb City convenience store that sells
them.

They know about pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in many cold medicines that
can be turned into methamphetamine with a little enterprise and some
household products.

It's why they support legislation restricting access to cold medicines.

"Meth is bad around here," Sue Harmon said. "Real bad."

Federal lawmakers are studying a proposal that would move cold medicines
containing pseudoephedrine off store shelves and behind the pharmacy
counter.

The legislation, proposed by Missouri U.S. Sen. Jim Talent and modeled after
regulations enacted last year in Oklahoma, would mandate that only a
licensed pharmacist or pharmacy technician could sell the products. Buyers
would be required to furnish proof of identification and to sign their names
on a log before the purchase.

A similar bill, drafted at Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt's request, is before the
state Legislature. It would:

Make products containing pseudoephedrine and combination products containing
ephedrine schedule 5 controlled substances.

Require that those drugs be kept behind a pharmacy counter and sold only by
pharmacists or pharmaceutical technicians.

Require individuals who want to purchase those products to show a photo
identification card and to sign a written log.

Limit the quantity of pseudoephedrine and combination
ephedrine/pseudoephedrine products individuals can buy per month to 9 grams
(three normal sized boxes of cold tablets).

Require pharmacies to maintain purchase logs and make them available for
inspection to law enforcement officers.

The bill was approved Thursday by the Missouri House on a vote of 157-1 and
was sent to the Senate. In Kansas, a similar bill was approved Thursday by
the Senate on a unanimous vote and was sent to the House.

Missouri, in 2004, again led the nation in the number of meth-lab seizures
with 2,799, down slightly from the 2,860 seized the previous year, according
to figures from the National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System. Kansas
reported 583 incidents, a 10 percent decline from the number for the
previous year. Kansas ranked No. 11 in the nation last year in the number of
meth-lab seizures.

Oklahoma model

Proponents of the anti-meth legislation hope to curtail meth trafficking by
restricting access to its most indispensable ingredient.

Detractors contend that the new regulations would impose extra burdens on
law-abiding customers.

Convenience stores could no longer sell the cold medicines unless they
secured permission from the Federal Drug Administration. Consumers could
obtain the medications only when pharmacies are open. A survey of 16 area
pharmacies by the Globe found three that are open past 9 p.m. Mondays
through Fridays. Only one - at the Walgreens store in Joplin - is open 24
hours. Six are open past 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and three are open past 6 p.m.
on Sundays.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association is critical of the proposed
laws because they would restrict families' access, particularly those living
in rural communities. The group endorses meth-watch programs and increased
education and treatment as alternatives.

But supporters counter that authorities need to choke off meth makers'
supplies, and they cite Oklahoma's success as evidence that the regulations
work.

According to numbers provided by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and
Dangerous Drugs Control, Oklahoma averaged 105 meth-lab busts a month before
the law took effect last April. By November, the monthly number had dropped
to 19. Officers seized 20 labs in December, posting the two best consecutive
months the state has seen for a long time, said Lonnie Wright, chief of the
bureau."We're just delighted," Wright said. "If the surrounding states do
the same, I think we can put the problem to bed for a while."

Lt. Bob Ernst of the Ottawa County (Okla.) Sheriff's Department said
pharmacies will share their lists with law enforcement so officers can
monitor who has been purchasing medicines in suspicious quantities.

"I'd like to see (the regulations go) nationwide," he said.

Liquid exemptions

Some groups, though, harbor some concerns about the impact on consumers and
businesses.

Ron Leon, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers &
Convenience Store Association, said he supports the legislation in Missouri
because it exempts liquid cold medicines and gel caps. That would allow
convenience stores to stock at least some of the products and give consumers
some limited options besides a pharmacy.

The proposed federal legislation does not distinguish between the two
because meth cooks can extract some pseudoephedrine from liquid cold
medicine or gel caps, said Rich Chrismer, a spokesman for Talent.

"If you lock one kind up behind the counter, they will go for another," he
said.

Philip Whittle, a professor at Missouri Southern State University and
director of the school's crime lab, said it's more difficult to make meth
from gel caps or liquid medicine than from tablets. He said the difficulties
would not prevent addicts from turning to liquid medicine and gel caps if
tablets become less available.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., which manufactures Sudafed, just recently
released Sudafed PE - a brand that swaps pseudoephedrine with a chemical
that cannot be used to make meth - partly in anticipation of new federal
regulations.

One local pharmacy has already initiated a policy similar to Oklahoma's.

The Smitty's supermarket pharmacy in Joplin keeps its cold medicines
containing pseudoephedrine in a locked cabinet that is accessible only to
store managers. While some customers initially may have been puzzled by the
restriction, that feeling has evaporated, said pharmacist John Evans.

"Everybody kind of accepts it now," Evans said. "When they find out what
it's for, they tend to realize it's worth it."

Smitty's does not require customers to sign their names or to produce
identification before purchasing the products.

That provision would likely create more work for pharmacists, Evans said,
and could translate into a longer wait for consumers.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. 
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MAP posted-by: Josh