Keeping Sudafed behind the counter is depleting meth labs
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TRI-CITIES, Wash. -- Making methamphetamine was supposed to get harder last year when Washington state enacted the Combat Meth Act. Cold medicine that contains key ingredients is now sold behind the counter. And, the system's supposed to track those who buy it.
It's a daily question for Alysha Leyva.
She says to a customer, "Can I see your ID please?"
She does her part to keep track of the customers at her pharmacy who buy drugs like Claritin, Sudafed and Allegra.
Alysha explains, "Anything with the D. If it's marked with a D, it has pseudoephedrine in it basically."
In fact, Alysha takes them herself.
She continues, "I use Aprodine. I have to for my allergies. It's the only thing that works."
This N-Plex system records purchases of pseudoephedrine-filled drugs when they happen. Pharmacists scan your ID and can see when and where you bought them the last time. It only let you buy one box at a time.
Police say they've seen positive results here in the Tri Cities. Two years ago, they busted more than 50 meth labs in Benton County. There were more than 100 ten years ago.
Kennewick Police spokesman Mike Blatman tells KEPR, "There's a sharp reduction in the number of meth labs that have been taken down in the immediate area."
It took a little getting used to.
Blatman explains, "When it first started, we saw some shoplifting of those items."
Alysha chimes in, "I had a shoplifter once."
"But, even that dissipated," says Blatman.
Once in awhile, people still try to get around the law... especially by people coming from Oregon where the prescriptions are required to buy the same medicine.
Alysha nods, "We've had sketchy people come in from Oregon trying to buy Sudafed. We say, sorry, your state requires requires a prescription for it. So, we cant sell it them."
Police only expect the results to get better in time.
"It's good because we don't have these toxic situations where homes are not being lived in because of meth manufacturing," Blatman says,
Allergy sufferers like Alysha don't mind taking the extra step if it's working.
Alysha shrugs, "Bad people have to ruin it for the good people type of thing."
Pharmacies don't pay anything for the tracking system. However, we found out a lot of local pharmacies stopped selling products with pseudoephedrine altogether to avoid dealing with it.
It's a daily question for Alysha Leyva.
She says to a customer, "Can I see your ID please?"
She does her part to keep track of the customers at her pharmacy who buy drugs like Claritin, Sudafed and Allegra.
Alysha explains, "Anything with the D. If it's marked with a D, it has pseudoephedrine in it basically."
In fact, Alysha takes them herself.
She continues, "I use Aprodine. I have to for my allergies. It's the only thing that works."
This N-Plex system records purchases of pseudoephedrine-filled drugs when they happen. Pharmacists scan your ID and can see when and where you bought them the last time. It only let you buy one box at a time.
Police say they've seen positive results here in the Tri Cities. Two years ago, they busted more than 50 meth labs in Benton County. There were more than 100 ten years ago.
Kennewick Police spokesman Mike Blatman tells KEPR, "There's a sharp reduction in the number of meth labs that have been taken down in the immediate area."
It took a little getting used to.
Blatman explains, "When it first started, we saw some shoplifting of those items."
Alysha chimes in, "I had a shoplifter once."
"But, even that dissipated," says Blatman.
Once in awhile, people still try to get around the law... especially by people coming from Oregon where the prescriptions are required to buy the same medicine.
Alysha nods, "We've had sketchy people come in from Oregon trying to buy Sudafed. We say, sorry, your state requires requires a prescription for it. So, we cant sell it them."
Police only expect the results to get better in time.
"It's good because we don't have these toxic situations where homes are not being lived in because of meth manufacturing," Blatman says,
Allergy sufferers like Alysha don't mind taking the extra step if it's working.
Alysha shrugs, "Bad people have to ruin it for the good people type of thing."
Pharmacies don't pay anything for the tracking system. However, we found out a lot of local pharmacies stopped selling products with pseudoephedrine altogether to avoid dealing with it.
Fair and balanced? Â Yeah, if you're law enforcement or a store clerk, but I sure wish you'd interviewed someone like me: Â who needs these medications to prevent seasonal allergies common to the Tri-Cities from turning into a full-blown sinus infection. Â This law has caused a lot of inconvenience, shortages and health problems.
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Since passage of this law, it's gotten harder to find the decongestants I need as more and more stores simply stop stocking them. Â Those that do sell them have limited the number and type of products they sell, and since pharmacy areas typically are the only place to buy them, the hours they're available have been slashed. Â Even if one brand or formulation works better for me, chances are, I won't be able to find it.
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Result: sometimes I have to drag my aching head to more than one store to find the medicine I need--and to get the "you're a criminal" treatment on top of a painful sinus headache is adding insult to injury. Â And because I buy for our whole household--and my husband has similar allergies--I can't buy adequate supplies of these meds at any one time.Â
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Finally, these records include full information about name, address and drivers' license information: a recipe for identity theft. Â Some area stores keep HANDWRITTEN logs of this information: an identity thief's dream!
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While I'm happy law enforcement is seeing a positive result, there IS a cost imposed by this law, and I'm paying it. Â Time, inconvenience, and limited access to medication I need to stay healthy has a cost--and it's multiplied by the citizens who now have impaired access to medicine, increased cost and increased risk of identity theft.
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Would have been nice to have heard about that side of this story!