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Legislation to control the sale of cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine – the main ingredient in the illegal production of methamphetamine – started in July, but whether it will be enough still is unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n CVS Pharmacy Manager Christopher Day said his job is harder than ever because he’s effectively profiling customers who want to buy cold medicine. He’s hoping the legislation – Senate Enrolled Act 80 – makes it more difficult for those who want to use pseudoephedrine for illegal activity to get. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWith that bill, we tried to balance the needs of people who are legitimate users of pseudoephedrine with the need for law enforcement to have another tool to slow down the use of meth,\u201d said Rep. Sue Errington, D-Muncie.<\/span><\/p>\n With the number of meth lab busts climbing in Delaware County, authorities and policymakers are searching for solutions. Delaware County leads the state in number of meth lab busts. In one year, 2014 to 2015, the number of meth lab busts skyrocketed nearly 40 percent. <\/span><\/p>\n Pseudoephedrine sales are limited to behind-the-counter transactions, so it’s Day’s job to question customers to determine whether they will use the drug for its intended purpose. <\/span><\/p>\n What are your symptoms? What have you used in the past? Are you draining or coughing?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo one likes to be profiled, but that\u2019s what you end up having to do,\u201d he said. \u201cIt seems to be a certain demographic and certain socioeconomic group that comes in that we tend to profile a little bit more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Day, who works at the CVS on Tillotson Avenue, uses his best judgment about whether to make the sale. He said the law wants pharmacists to say they don\u2019t feel comfortable selling the product, but it\u2019s difficult when customers become upset.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo [pharmacists] end up saying \u2018we don\u2019t have any in stock or we\u2019re just not able to sell it today because our system is down,\u2019\u201d Day said. \u201cWe don\u2019t like lying but it\u2019s just become what the norm is going into pharmacies because we recognize that [pseudoephedrine] is a problem.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He also offers an alternative medicine. When that exchange occurs, nine out of 10 customers decline and walk away, but not without some harsh reactions. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI’ve been called every name you can think of,” Day said. “My goal is to help them on a path to better health, one way or another.”<\/span><\/p>\n Pharmacists use the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) to track pseudoephedrine sales. They swipe each customer\u2019s photo ID, which records the purchaser, date, time, location and amount purchased. Customers are limited to 3.6 grams per day, 7.2 grams per month and 61.2 grams per year.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to NPLEx, Day said he supports requiring a prescription for pseudoephedrine.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery pharmacist you would talk to would say that they would want it to be a prescription,\u201d Day said. \u201cIf we\u2019re really focusing on solving the meth crisis, I think that\u2019s a good solution.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Article continues after video.<\/i>
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