Gilroy
– Drugstores in Gilroy are preparing to voluntarily move
nonprescription cold and allergy medicines behind the counter
because they contain an ingredient used to make the stimulant
methamphetamine.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Drugstores in Gilroy are preparing to voluntarily move nonprescription cold and allergy medicines behind the counter because they contain an ingredient used to make the stimulant methamphetamine.
Several major drugstore chains have announced recently that they plan to move over-the-counter medicines containing pseudoephedrine – such as Sudafed or Tylenol – to where a customer would have to ask a pharmacist for them. Pseudoephedrine is the key ingredient in meth.
The move comes as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) promotes legislation she is co-sponsoring that would require retailers to move pseudoephedrine products and ask for a photo ID before they hand over the medicine. Called the Combat Meth Act of 2005, the legislation also would limit each buyer to 336 30-milligram pills in a 30-day period, and set aside grant money for drug treatment and other programs.
“This is a full-out war against methamphetamine,” Feinstein told a Fresno audience Monday that included several law enforcement representatives.
The bill faces strong opposition from representatives of the drug industry, who argue it would put too many barriers between a sick person and a legitimate form of relief.
Target, Long’s Drugs, Wal-Mart and Rite Aid are among the companies with stores in Gilroy that have recently announced they will make pseudoephedrine products more difficult to obtain by this summer.
“We have the ability to tackle this issue now and perhaps prevent further abuse,” Long’s President and Chief Executive Warren Bryant said in a statement.
Local grocery stores Safeway and Nob Hill do not yet have plans to move the medicines, although Albertson’s, which has a store in Morgan Hill and operates Savon pharmacies, announced last Monday it would.
“I think the majority (of grocers) are taking a wait-and-see, based on what comes down the pike in the legislature,” said Dave Highland, spokesman for the California Grocers Association. “That seems to be the consensus from our members.”
Use of meth, a cheap and fiercely addictive drug, has soared over the last few years in rural communities around the country, Feinstein said. It can be cooked from easily available chemicals in kitchens and motel rooms. This year alone, 850 labs have been seized in the state of California, Feinstein said.
The bill will next be heard in the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Feinstein said.
