Pubdate: Wed, 28 Dec 2005
Source: Gadsden Times, The (AL)
Copyright: 2005 The Gadsden Times
Contact:  http://www.gadsdentimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1203
Author: Lisa Rogers
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

NEW PSEUDOEPHEDRINE REGULATIONS AFFECTING PHARMACIES

Some pharmacy customers understand. Others don't. But a new law 
regulating the sale of over-the-counter medications containing 
pseudoephedrine has changed the way customers buy the medication.

Customers must sign for products that contain ephedrine and 
pseudoephedrine - the key ingredients in making crystal 
methamphetamine, considered to be the No. 1 drug problem in Alabama.

The law that regulates the sale of the drug went into effect July 1.

Most law enforcement agencies say the number of meth labs has 
decreased, but there are still some reports of labs.

Chas Clifton, commander of the Cherokee County Drug Task Force, said 
the law has helped, but it is only a matter of time until those who 
cook meth find another way.

The law requires that the medication must be kept behind the counter 
or locked in a display case.

Those who make the purchase must show their drivers license to get 
information such as name, address and phone number. Only two packages 
can be bought within a 30-day period.

It's not affecting the small, independently owned pharmacies as much 
as it is the large chain retailers, Physicians Apothecary owner Danny 
Guest said.

Many of the local pharmacies work together, to compare notes on those 
that seem suspicious and are buying the drug, said Linda Stiph, a 
pharmacy inventory technician at CVS in East Gadsden said.

"A lot of the customers don't like it, but they understand," she said.

Most pharmacies know the needs of their regular customers and can 
detect someone who might be trying to buy the drug to make meth, she said.

For now, the law is helping, Clifton said. "It gives us another tool 
in fighting the meth war."

But Clifton said those who cook meth eventually will figure out some 
other way to get the ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to make meth.

Clifton attended a school in December in Mississippi that teaches 
some of the resourcefulness meth cooks have come up with.

"They're going to find a way around the law eventually," he said. 
"It's important that the Legislature passed the law, but there's more 
to be done."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom