Pubdate: Mon, 03 Jul 2006
Source: Times, The  (Munster IN)
Copyright: 2006 The Munster Times
Contact:  http://www.nwitimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/832
Author: Valerie Dowdle, Medill News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

AG TOUTS TRACKING OF METH INGREDIENT

ILLINOIS: Madigan praises Walgreens for creating national database

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan praised Walgreens last week 
for the effectiveness of its new electronic database that enforces 
legal limits on how much of the stimulant pseudoephedrine an 
individual can purchase.

The first of its kind, Walgreens' national database improves on the 
old-fashioned system of logging pseudoephedrine purchases on paper. 
Pseudoephedrine is used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine. 
According to Phil Burgess, Walgreens' national director of Pharmacy 
Affairs, the paper-based tracking system proved ineffective partly 
because of the difficulty of keeping accurate handwritten records.

At a Walgreens pharmacy in the Loop on Wednesday, Madigan and Burgess 
demonstrated the virtues of the new system. Customers who buy 
pseudoephedrine-containing medicines, such as Claritin and Sudafed, 
are required to provide a state ID card and sign a log. The system 
then records each individual's name, address and state ID number, 
along with the details of the sale. Pseudoephedrine is a chemical 
compound often used in decongestants.

A major drawback of the paper logging system was that it only tracked 
transactions within each Walgreens store, not among all stores. 
Burgess noted that the old system made it simple to evade the federal 
law without interstate cooperation.

And, Madigan said, since Illinois' neighboring states lead the 
country in the number of illicit meth labs, implementing a national 
tracking system is vital.

By Sept. 30, nationwide restrictions will be placed on the purchase 
of pseudoephedrine, Burgess said. An individual buying products that 
contain the stimulant must be 18 years old, and customers will be 
limited to 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine per transaction.

While these federal restrictions will set the minimum standards for 
regulation, Illinois joined the roster of about 20 states that place 
additional controls on the sales of the drug.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman