Nebraska Anti-Meth Program Allows Store Clerks to I.D. Buyers of Cold, Allergy Medicines

Associated Press ^ | 07-30-03

[Brian S]

The Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. July 30 —

To battle manufacturers of the illegal drug methamphetamine, a sheriff has raised eyebrows by instituting a voluntary program in which store clerks ask for ID from customers who purchase cold or allergy medicine.

Nemaha County Sheriff Brent Lottman said he plans to continue the week-old program aimed at keeping tabs on people who may be using the pseudoephedrine in the products to make the illegal drug.

"We're not publishing any of this information or anything," Lottman said Monday. "I buy Claritin usually every 20 days. I guess if somebody wanted me to write that down, I really wouldn't care."

He said he will stop the program if it proves ineffective.

U.S. Attorney Mike Heavican said there was nothing illegal about Lottman's program, but he anticipated debate among law enforcement agencies across the state.

He said he knew of no other law enforcement agency taking the same approach. Nemaha County is in the southeast part of the state.

In June, Missouri Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell signed into law legislation restricting the retail display and sale of over-the-counter medications that can be used to make methamphetamine. It requires stores to keep medicines with pseudoephedrine as the sole active ingredient behind a counter, or within 10 feet of a cashier, or to tag packages with electronic anti-theft devices.

Missouri and five other states already limit customers to three packages of over-the-counter medicines like Sudafed.

Heavican's office endorses a program called Retail Watch that educates store clerks about common ingredients for meth and urges them to note bulk purchases of those products or other suspicious sales. That program does not require consumers to give their name or sign anything before making a purchase.

Glenn Troester said he is considering filing a complaint with the state attorney general's office over Lottman's program.

Troester, 59, said a pharmacy refused to sell him a box of Sudafed for his wife when he declined to show his driver's license. He said he then went to five other stores. He said he was asked to show his license, but when he refused he was still allowed to buy the cold medicine.

"In the end what this does is set a bad precedent," said Tim Butz, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union Nebraska chapter. "People that are buying medicine to maintain their health shouldn't have to find their name compiled in yet another government database. ... That just goes to show the idiocy of the war on drugs."

Federal law allows for criminal charges if a person gathers the items to make meth with the intention of producing the drug.

Catching meth makers is difficult because it can be cooked in backyard sheds, motel rooms and vans. It is a highly addictive stimulant that produces a euphoria similar to cocaine, but lasts longer six to eight hours compared to 20 to 60 minutes for cocaine

[mewzilla]

Some stores around here, Upstate NY, have been doing this for a while now. Fine by me.

[KantianBurke]

"said he plans to continue the week-old program aimed at keeping tabs on people"

[SauronOfMordor]

I had to give my name, address, and purpose for use in order to get a bottle of IODINE for my mom (she doesn't like neosporin). It seems tincture of iodine now has a use in the production of meth.

[RJCogburn]

In related news, Kevin Curry and Cultural Jihad are now limiting cold therapies to wiping their respective noses on their respective sleeves.

[Chewbacca]

Why not just buy a tube of iodine paste which comes in a tube similiar to neosporin?

I use that all the time and mix in a little granulated sugar and aloe when I put it on cuts.
The sugar helps prevent infection, the iodine acts as a topical antiseptic, and the aloe keeps the skin plyable. Works great on humans and animals.

[George Smiley]

If Sudafed is outlawed, only outlaws....

[George W. Bush]

This is silly. My understanding is that they have to buy a lot of this stuff to get enough to make meth.

They should concentrate on people buying it every day or buying it multiple packages at once.

It won't work anyway. They'll find ways to buy it regardless. It might just drive up the cost of acquiring it a little. The overall meth market will not be affected in the least.

[miloklancy]

This policy may seem extreme to some, but Meth is a serious problem in rural Nebraska. I don't know what else can be done.

[RJCogburn]

I don't know what else can be done.

Just say no.

The problem with drug use is really one of demand, not supply.

[Iwo Jima]

It may be fine by you, but it would not be fine by me, and I would think that it is not fine by Sudafed. I would not give out my name, etc. in order to buy Sudafed. I would just do without if I had to.

I would be concerned about my name getting on some list of "suspected drug dealers" and getting a no-knock visit in the night from a dozen masked men in black ninja suits with automatic weapons. Whether or not my fears are reasonable would not be the point. The point is that I would have those fears and would act on them by not buying the product or doing business with that merchant.

I would not have these concerns if the merchant chose placed limits on how many packages it would sell you at a time. I would only need to buy one package at a time so that wouldn't affect me or anyone using the product for its intended purpose.

[dead]

President Hillary will be fingerprinting people who buy Ann Coulter's next book.

But hey, if you have nothing to hide...

[bassmaner]

The problem with drug use is really one of demand, not supply.

Correct. But the drug warrior modus operandi is to ignore demand, focus on supply, and fill up prisons. They're now focusing on criminalizing allergy patients.

[miloklancy]

Yeah and you can't curb demand in a society that constantly promotes self-medication for every problem. Emotional, physical, or otherwise. Illegal drugs are part of this problem, but so are the legal ones. Granted the societal impact of something like Meth is far worse than booze or whatever, but it is a mindset that really has nothing to do with the legality of the substance.

[MrLeRoy]

I'll bet every product you can buy has a potential illegal use; are we going to let government collect information on all our purchases? All in favor say "baaaaaah."

[jmc813]

WOD Ping