• Corporate News
• FireKing Office Products
• Image Vault CCTV
• Safes
• Newsletter
• Events Calendar

Legislators Concerned with Cold Meds in Meth

Several U.S. senators have recently introduced legislation called the "Combat Meth Act of 2005" which would curb the diversion of common cold and allergy drug to illegal home labs manufacturing the street drug called methamphetamine (meth).

Proponents are concerned that meth is produced in small home labs and that these labs leave toxic waste which must be cleaned up.

For example, a high school student has been quoted as saying that he would often buy multiple packages of Sudafed at a major discount store and then turn it over to a neighbor who cooked the drug in a bathroom laboratory. In return the dealer shared the finished product with him.

The federal bill, according to the National Assn. of Convenience Stores (NACS) calls for pseudoephedrine (the active ingredient in most cold and allergy drugs) to be added to the federal controlled substances act. By inclusion into the list, it would mean that these products would have to be purchased from a licensed pharmacist but would not require a prescription. However, it would have convenience store implications because these products would be eliminated from c-stores and grocery stores who do not have a registered pharmacist, according to the National Assn. of Convenience Stores. (NACS) Lyle Beckwith, NACS senior vice president of government relations, issued the following response to the bill. "As members of the communities in which we operate, convenience stores share the concerns about the diversion of cold and allergy products to illegal drug labs. NACS remains committed to working with those seeking to alleviate this diversion while allowing our customers access to legal products for legitimate use.”

As many as 20 states have considered or enacted similar legislation over the past year. For instance, the governor of Oklahoma wants the state legislature to create an online database that would restrict the sales of pseudoephedrine. Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry is proposing a computerized tracking system that would keep people from purchasing more than nine grams of pseudoephedrine. The computer system would link pharmacies to keep people from purchasing more than the limit in multiple locations.

Diana O’Donoughue, legislative affairs director of the New England Convenience Store Assn. (NECSA), reports that the Maine attorney general’s office has expressed an interest in filing legislation to address the over the counter medication sales of products that contain pseudoephedrines. In her legislative report this issue she said that over-the-counter cold medications such as Sudafed and Tylenol Flu contain pseudoephedrine and these products in large quantities can be used to create the addictive meth drugs. Convenience stores would like to see legislation that addresses this issue to allow c-stores to continue to sell these legal cold products.

One company, Image Vault, has come up with digital video recorder system which allows users to search for any value or word printed on a receipt. The police can review the data from the store’s POS system for suspicious purchases. For example if someone comes in and purchases a bulk supply of Sudafed, police can pinpoint the exact time of purchase and pull up the video image of the consumer making the purchase.

Danny Mantooth, an investigator of the Winchester, Tenn. police department, said this video information has been useful in prosecuting 21 area meth labs. James Garner, owner of Speedy Mart in Winchester, said the video system has also been useful in detecting people who are involved in shop lifting, gas driveoffs, and bounce checks.