Pubdate: Sun, 20 Nov 2005
Source: Evansville Courier & Press (IN)
Copyright: 2005 The Evansville Courier Company
Contact:  http://www.courierpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/138
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

HIDDEN CAMERA SHOWED HOW PURCHASES MADE

The Evansville Courier & Press and its news-gathering partner, 
WEHT-News25, conducted a hidden-camera investigation at Evansville 
pharmacies to test whether Indiana's new meth law is working. The new 
law limits customers to buying no more than three grams of 
pseudoephedrine from one pharmacy per week, which works out to about 
100 pills of 30 mg Sudafed or similar cold remedies. Pseudoephedrine 
pills also are used illicitly to make methamphetamine. Purchasing 
Sudafed boxes for the experiment was a volunteer, Shannon Dilbeck, 
who is not a newsroom employee but works in the Courier & Press 
marketing department. A Channel 25 photographer, Neil Kellen, wearing 
a button-sized hidden camera, accompanied Dilbeck into the stores and 
videotaped each transaction.

Over the course of Oct. 10, 12 and 14, Dilbeck entered stores 21 
times, visiting 10 different pharmacies, including two locations each 
from the Walgreen, Wal-Mart and Schnucks chains, three CVS locations, 
plus one local independent, Oak Hill Pharmacy.

Each time, she tried to purchase 30 mg Sudafed. If a box of 24 pills 
was not available, she  asked for a box of 48. If Sudafed was sold 
out, she requested a generic equivalent containing the same active 
ingredient, pseudoephedrine.

At each visit, Dilbeck presented her own identification and signed 
her real name to the pharmacy's log book, as required by the law. 
Separate stores within the same chain did not question her multiple 
purchases. During repeat visits, however, three stores recognized her 
name in their logs and did not let her buy the medication.

By visiting 10 pharmacies two or three times each, Dilbeck was able 
to obtain 19 boxes of Sudafed containing a 528 pills. That works out 
to 15.84 grams of pseudoephedrine. That would be more than enough to 
brew two batches of methamphetamine. (Other ingredients essential to 
meth manufacturing were not purchased.)

Violating the law is a misdemeanor. Though more than a month has 
passed since the undercover purchases, Dilbeck said no one from law 
enforcement has contacted her or questioned why she bought such 
amounts of pseudoephedrine.

The 19 boxes of Sudafed were not stored together but were kept 
separately by different people. The medication was not opened or used.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman