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Posted on 06/02/2006 1:15:20 PM PDT by John Jorsett
Get ready to give up a little bit of your privacy in exchange for certain allergy or cold medicines.
Starting in late September, just in time for cold season, consumers will be required to fork over photo IDs and list their home addresses in logbooks before buying Sudafed, Contac or other remedies containing the nasal-decongestant pseudoephedrine or similar substances.
Some retailers already are asking for the information, which law-enforcement officials hope will help them fight the illegal production of methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that can be made, in part, by "cooking" pseudoephedrine.
Consumers in Florida and many other states have grown used to sales restrictions on pseudoephedrine-containing drugs -- including their placement behind pharmacy counters instead of on store shelves.
But the latest rules, which also call for limits on purchases of up to 120 pills a day, are part of a federal effort to combat meth addiction.
Methamphetamine abuse is an increasing problem in the United States, with a recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration saying the number of users admitted to substance-abuse clinics more than quadrupled from 1993 to 2003. The problem is particularly acute in rural America, though the Orlando area also has seen a rise in meth labs.
For instance, last year the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized 115 meth labs in Central Florida. In 2000, it seized two.
Tracking sales is critical to stopping the spread of meth labs in Central Florida, said Stephen Collins, who heads the Orlando office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Collins said it was "very common" for meth makers to comb the region's stores for cold medicine needed to make the illicit drug.
"We had individuals that would canvass up and down Central Florida and the East Coast and hit numerous stores, buying as much as they could get their hands on," he said. "By limiting this, we hope to see the decrease in the number of labs."
The new regulations, passed in March as part of the USA Patriot Act, are being phased in over the next several months. They are stricter than Florida law and will override it, the Florida Retail Federation said.
Dawn Townsend, a pharmacist at Maitland Rexall Drug Store, said she just recently learned about the logbook rule and is in the process of teaching her staff what to do.
"I don't see it as a hassle," she added.
Industry groups say they expect sales of medicines that contain pseudoephedrine to decline as a result of the law. Already, drug makers are selling reformulated cold medicines that don't need to be placed behind the counter, such as Sudafed PE.
"Most big retailers saw this coming," Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) spokeswoman Carol Hively said.
The rise of meth labs prompted several states, including Florida last summer, to pass laws restricting sales of pseudoephedrine-containing medicine. But while consumers may not mind limits on how much cold medicine they can purchase at one time, they may bristle at giving up personal information to buy it.
"The question here is, is it the job of pharmacies and pharmacists to be a policeman on these products [and] what are the privacy protections for people who legitimately buy these products and have their name recorded somewhere?" said Arthur Levin, director of the New York-based Center for Medical Consumers, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Drugstores say measures are in place to prohibit the disclosure of consumers' private information, which retailers must keep for up to two years after a sale. The federal law, for instance, prohibits retailers from disclosing private information except when a legal request is made by local, state or federal authorities.
"We don't have any intention to use it in any way except to make it available to the authorities," Walgreen's Hively said.
And helping those authorities fight illegal meth production is why Lydia McNeil, 60, of Orlando is willing to give up personal information to buy the Sudafed she uses to treat her colds.
"I wouldn't mind signing anything to keep it out of the hands of the people who are using it for the wrong reason," she said, after shopping at a Walgreens on Michigan Avenue in Orlando.
Though the federal law does not provide for a clearinghouse, so purchases could be tracked from store to store, some retailers are working on that approach themselves within their chains. Walgreens and CVS (NYSE:CVS) -- two of the nation's biggest drugstore chains -- said they are developing systems to monitor sales. Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) says it already uses an electronic logbook that can track purchases at individual outlets but not from store to store.
Marianne Myers, 45, who was shopping at an Albertsons (NYSE:ABS) on South Orange Avenue in Orlando, said she understood the motive behind the new measures but lamented the implications.
"It's probably a hassle for us," the Orlando resident said. "It's sad that things have to be like that."
Because government-granted monopolies are as bad as any other kind of monopoly.
In the 1950s, before Medicare and Medicaid and when you could buy codeine cough medicine over-the-counter, medical expenses were 1% of GDP.
Now that the Feds run the entire health care system and just about anything stronger than aspirin is a controlled substance, medical costs are 15% of GDP and growing.
What part of that math confuses you?
I would have told her to drop dead, too! Sheesh, you were there to get cold meds - not a TS/SCI!
Last night, I listened to a radio show that most people consider to be rather wacky but it does offer some interesting perspectives on different issues. The man being interviewed rather blatantly said that we (Americans) are becoming a police state. I've had the same thought a few times - and it's certainly unfortunate that many Americans are so complacent.
Forgot to add that they do not however ID me to buy acetone and hydrogen peroxide, nor do they ID me to buy aluminium radiator stop leak and 34-0-0 rapid green (non urea) lawn fertilizer
BOOOM
I was forced to get a prescription for Claritin-D when Minnesota limited OTC sales to 20 per month. But lo and behold my insurance plan started covering it around that time and now it's only $3 a month, far less than I used to pay.
That's a threat, an extortion tactic from drug users who are willing to kill for their habit. Such advocates should be jailed for the crimes of threatening to commit murder and robbery.
Or they should shut up. But don't make threats in any case.
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
One local neighborhood family of 6 all have allergies. The mom went to the drug store and was informed that she could not purchase enough medication for her family. She couldn't even get enough for the 4 kids. Outrageous.
Dude, this is Sudafed for crying out loud!
In Maine every prescription for any controlled substance is on an internet database available to all pharmacists Nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, medical assistants and doctors in the state. Courtesy of Dora Mills and others! Her brother is running for governor. that is the man who wanted to kibosh homeschooling.
Wouldn't you agree as a conservative that that choice should be made by individual business owners?
Which is used in bulk to create a bad drug.
Same reason we put some glues and spray cans behind glass in hardware stores.
You can get stuff, you just will have trouble getting crates of stuff. :-)
WTF??? Aww, hell no!
Your bigger concern is pharmacies deciding it's not worth it and stop carrying it.
Guys, it says in the article this is federal law, part of the new Patriot Act.
Does anyone have a problem with this besides me?
Don't blame the homos, it ain't just a "gay" drug.
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
No, because they are profit oriented and are not interested as to what happens to the consumer when they leave their store.
Kids can be sniffing their glue, using drugs made from their store and the store owner would never consider the issue at all.
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