WP,pg1: Retailers (major chains) Restrict Some Cold Medicines (meth)

[DeepModem Mom]

Retailers Restrict Some Cold Medicines
Ingredient Can Be Used to Make Meth

By Margaret Webb Pressler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 14, 2005; Page A01


Many major chain retailers will remove most over-the-counter cold medications from store shelves over the next two months and put them behind pharmacy counters in an effort to help law enforcement tackle a growing problem with an illegal drug.

In some cases, customers will have to show their driver's licenses and sign a log to purchase relief for a throbbing allergy headache. Some retailers -- tight for space in the pharmacy -- are cutting back on the variety of products they will carry.

"It will be a big change for consumers," said Jody Cook, a spokeswoman for Rite Aid Corp. The move will affect more than 100 products, including common names such as Sudafed, Tylenol Cold and Claritin-D.

The medicines being removed from shelves at Target, Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid and other retailers all contain the common pharmaceutical ingredient pseudoephedrine, found in just about every medication aimed at relieving stuffy noses.

But pseudoephedrine, in addition to providing quick relief for sinus sufferers, is also needed to make the dangerous and addictive drug methamphetamine. Criminals are stealing over-the-counter medicines, or buying as much as they can, and using them to make the illicit drug. Hence the crackdown on cold medicines....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/13/AR2005051301449.html