Pubdate: Tue, 23 Jan 2007
Source: Kingman Daily Miner (AZ)
Copyright: 2007 Kingman Daily Miner
Contact:  http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3469
Author: Aaron Royster
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

COLD MEDICINE PURCHASES TRACKED TO CUT DOWN ON THE PRODUCTION OF METH

KINGMAN - You're sore and groggy, wishing you had a full night's rest 
last night, and now all you're hoping for is something to help you 
sleep tonight.

Hopefully, the cold medicine will help you stay asleep, but can you 
rest easy knowing the information you gave the pharmacist to get the 
medicine is being kept safe?

The Kingman City Council passed Ordinance No. 1526 on Jan. 4, 2006. 
It requires operators of retail establishments to keep all products 
containing pseudoephedrine, which is an ingredient in some cold 
medicines, be kept behind a store counter or inaccessible to 
customers without the assistance of an employee. The ordinance also 
requires that the business record the name and date of birth of the 
customer, quantity of pseudoephedrine product purchased, transaction 
date and the initials of the seller for 90 days.

The city of Kingman isn't the only government concerned about 
pseudoephedrine purchases. In March, Congress passed the Combat 
Methamphetamine Epidemic Act limiting the sale of pseudoephederine 
products to 3.6 grams or roughly 120 tablets daily and a total of 
nine grams or around 300 tablets monthly. The law also requires 
retailers to maintain a logbook of individuals who purchased the 
products for 30 days.

According to Walgreens spokeswoman Tiffani Bruce, its stores keep an 
electronic log requiring a secure login with all the vital 
information of customers. She added that the company had installed 
the sign-in policy in the fall of 2005 and at the same time also 
limited purchases of products containing pseudoephedrine to two per person.

Wal-Mart also keeps an electronic log as part of their proprietary 
pharmacy patient record system, according to Kevin Gardner, the 
senior manager with corporate communications for Wal-Mart.

Both stores keep pseudoephedrine-based products behind the counters 
in their pharmacies.

The information obtained is considered confidential but is available 
to the Kingman Police Department, the Arizona Department of Public 
Safety, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies.

"We don't do it on a regular basis," KPD Sgt. Rusty Cooper said in 
response to how often they check pharmacies' lists in Kingman. "We do 
random checks."

Cooper added that it mainly checks the lists when it hears of 
suspicious activity or when investigating a specific person or incident.

Messages left with Kroger, which owns Smith's, and Safeway for their 
policies regarding recording individuals who purchased products 
containing pseudoephedrine were not replied to by Friday afternoon.

According to Uptown Drug employee Amanda Yee, law enforcement has 
only checked their list, which they keep in a binder behind the 
pharmacy counter, once after they flagged a person who was taking a 
significant amount of products containing pseudoephedrine. Yee said 
the store on Bank Street usually has five to six customers daily that 
sign for medicine with pseudoephedrine during this cold and flu season.

Public Information Specialist Trish Carter with the MCSO said their 
office only looks at lists on three occasions: when they are 
conducting an investigation and discover an individual purchasing 
products containing pseudoephedrine; when they receive a tip from the 
public; when a pharmacist contacts them with suspicions.

Locally and nationally, there has been a crackdown on methamphetamine 
use, focusing on the key ingredient in its production: 
pseudoephedrine. The Arizona Attorney General's Office has been 
outspoken in its fight against methamphetamine, and President George 
W. Bush proclaimed Nov. 30 as National Methamphetamine Awareness Day.

Currently, Arizona doesn't have legislation that is stricter than the 
federal act requiring medicines containing pseudoephedrine to be kept 
behind pharmacy counters and buyers to show identification and sign a log.

But, Goddard said in November, he would again seek legislative 
approval of a law requiring stricter regulations and punishment for violations.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman