Pubdate: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2006 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 Author: Heather Polischuk Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?241 (Methamphetamine - Canada) GROCERS NOT HAPPY WITH PLAN TO REMOVE COLD DRUGS An association representing Canadian grocers is hoping the Saskatchewan government will permanently shelve a plan to remove cough, cold and allergy medications from grocery stores. The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) disagrees with the January recommendation from the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) to remove multi-ingredient products containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine from grocery and convenience stores by Monday. Those products -- which include Sudafed, Triaminic and Advil Cold & Sinus, among others -- are used in the making of crystal methamphetamine, the stated reason behind NAPRA's decision. Under the recommendation, the items would remain available in pharmacies and would not be moving behind the counter. The recommendation has already been rejected in British Columbia and Alberta, but is strongly endorsed by the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists (SCP), a NAPRA member. "The short of it is, we think it's a socially responsible action to take," said SCP registrar Ray Joubert. "We're doing our part as much as we can to help control the problem." While Joubert admits known meth labs currently get their supply in bulk rather than from individual sale at stores, he said the effort to remove these products from stores is a proactive step to make sure it does not happen. "Our evidence suggests that once these bulk suppliers are eliminated, the next target will be retail so we're better off to be positioned to restrict our sales right now than to have to react somewhere down the road," he said. Joubert said the SCP passed a series of bylaw amendments in February that have been passed on to the provincial government for approval. A government spokesperson said a response will be issued early next week. The CFIG is anxiously awaiting that response, having stated its case to the province on a number of occasions, said Gary Sands, vice-president of the grocer association. He said his group's biggest concern is a belief that NAPRA is doing this to eliminate competition. "If you want to be proactive, you can't be proactive just with grocery stores," said Toronto-based Sands. "That's the problem with NAPRA and the Saskatchewan college's argument. If you're going to be proactive, if that's your argument, then you must take this out of grocery stores and in the pharmacies you have to move it behind the counter." He said if meth producers start looking for the products in stores rather than bulk, the CFIG would support moving the medications out of stores, as long as they are also going behind the counter at pharmacies. Late last year, single-ingredient cold medications containing pseudoephedrine were moved behind the counter to help combat the making of crystal meth. Joubert maintained this is not a commercially driven recommendation, adding he does not expect it will cause an accessibility problem for cold and allergy sufferers who need the products. If approved, the NAPRA recommendation would still allow the products to be sold in grocery stores that contain a pharmacy. That may not be a possibility in rural Saskatchewan, said Sands. "In rural Saskatchewan, you do have a lot of communities where there's a grocery store but no pharmacy, and that's what I think some of the retailers are concerned about," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom