Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jan 2005
Source: Kansas City Star (MO)
Copyright: 2005 The Kansas City Star
Contact:  http://www.kcstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/221
Author: Paul Wenske And Matt Stearns, The Kansas City Star
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

LIMITS PROPOSED ON SOME COLD MEDICINES

Which is more important: Giving consumers easy access to cold
medications or cutting meth production?

You've got the sniffles, watery eyes and your head feels ready to
explode. You want to grab something quick at the drug store and just go
to bed.

You probably don't expect to wait in line to buy your favorite cold or
flu medicine -- much less show ID and sign a form.

But consumers nationwide could face that prospect if legislation
introduced Wednesday in Congress and aimed at curtailing
methamphetamine labs becomes law.

A bipartisan group of senators led by Jim Talent, a Missouri
Republican, and Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, is pushing
the bill. They argue that many cold medicines -- such as Benadryl and
Sudafed -- contain pseudoephedrine, a key component of methamphetamine,
the illegal drug that has become a nationwide scourge, especially in
Missouri.

The bill would force retailers to place products containing
pseudoephedrine behind the counter, rather than on the shelves. They
would be sold by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician. And, you'd be
limited in how much you could buy -- about 9 grams, or about 300
30-milligram pills, in a 30-day period.

Kara Harmon, who was shopping Wednesday for allergy medicine at Bruce
Smith Drug in Prairie Village with 1-year-old son Charlie in tow, said
the proposal struck her as a little over the top.

"Certainly the average consumer isn't out there running a meth lab,"
Harmon said. Still, if the meth problem is that bad, she said she
didn't mind "the slight inconvenience."

Proponents contend the methamphetamine problem is out of control and
cold medicines have become such an easy source of the active
ingredient for meth makers that it more than justifies any
inconvenience or possible loss of privacy to consumers.

"We've got to stop the meth cooks from buying them because if they
can't buy them from the local stores they can't make the stuff in our
neighborhoods," Talent said Wednesday at a press conference in Washington.

Groups representing makers of cold medications, however, complain that
the law would interfere with consumer choice.

"Consumer access is key," said Elizabeth Assey of the Consumer
Healthcare Products Association. "Millions of Americans rely on
decongestants to treat colds and allergies."

The federal proposal echoes legislative efforts in Missouri and Kansas
and about 24 other states nationwide. Area pharmacists, who have
witnessed an increase in shoplifting of cold medicines, say they
support some sort of restrictions.

"On general principle, we're in support of what legislators are trying
to do," said Ron Fitzwater, chief executive officer of the Missouri
Pharmacy Association. "We understand it's going to be an inconvenience
to consumers and pharmacists, but we are in favor of any effort to
make things better."

Some retailers, including Walgreens, Osco and Hen House, already have
put the stronger drugs behind the counter.

The federal legislation is similar to the state proposals. Consumers
would be able to buy only 9 grams per month, or about 300 pills.

"Who needs to buy more than 300 pills in a month?" Feinstein asked.
"Think about it, if you're really going to use them just for cold
medication."

Officials said the average consumer buys about six packages a
year.

Spurring concerns in Missouri and Kansas is that a similar law passed
in Oklahoma last year forced meth makers to drive across state lines
to do their shopping at Kansas and Missouri drug stores.

"It's a concern expressed by the retailers," said Sharon Watson,
spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. "We
have a situation in southern Kansas with retailers seeing people
coming in and buying larger portions and taking them back to Oklahoma."

Kansas already had pioneered a program in which police work with
pharmacies to watch for suspicious purchasers of cold and flu medicines.

"Anything we can do to make it more difficult for these illegal drug
manufacturers, I'm all for," said Debbie Richmond, the pharmacist at
Bruce Smith Drugs.

But Richmond noted that enforcing the restrictions could present
logistical challenges for pharmacists. Other drawbacks include more
paperwork as pharmacists check identification and track who buys cold
remedies. Storing the data electronically could present privacy
concerns -- especially if the information is made available to police.

For retailers, the legislation could require adding more clerks,
special counters and surveillance cameras, as well as tying up more of
a pharmacist's time assisting customers.

Richmond said she didn't mind that because it could lead to
better-informed consumers.

Consumer groups still have not weighed in on the legislation. But
Larry D. Sasich, a spokesman for Public Citizen, a group based
Washington, D.C., said one benefit is that the law may reduce consumer
use of medications containing pseudoephedrine, a drug the group
contends has unnecessary risks because it can raise a person's heart
rate.

Sasich, a pharmacist, said pseudoephedrine already is
overused.

"We're only talking here about a stuffy nose. You can get the same
relief using a normal nasal spray containing saline," he noted.

But Talent said the possibility of consumer inconvenience is worth
making a major dent in meth production.

Ellie Slater of Leawood agreed. Shopping for over-the-counter
medication Wednesday for a sore throat, she said she would not be
inconvenienced by the new law.

"I'm not all that sick," Slater said. "If I was real sick I'd call my
doctor to get a prescription anyway."
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MAP posted-by: Derek