Cough Up More Than Cash When Buying Allergy Meds
Some Product Sales Being Rationed, Monitored
POSTED: 4:16 pm EDT April 17,
2008
UPDATED: 6:04 pm EDT April 17,
2008
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BOSTON -- Allergy season has many people running for relief. But when you're shopping this season, pharmacies will be asking for more than just your money.NewsCenter 5's Ed Harding reported Thursday that some allergy and cold products are being rationed and monitored so that they don't end up in meth labs.
VIDEO: Cough Up More Than Cash When Buying Allergy Meds"We have to see their license," Walgreens pharmacist Nirali Rana said.It's busy at the Walgreens Pharmacy in Lexington. Now, when you're looking for allergy or cold products with pseudoephedrine in it, you're being asked to give a little more time and a lot more information for a federal log."Make sure they're over 18 and put all the information in the computer system and that we monitor how much is bought per month, as well," Rana said.The concern is methamphetamine labs. The pseudoephedrine that is in a lot of allergy medications can be used to make the highly-addictive illegal drug. New federal laws mandated a monitoring system for drug stores to try and snuff out meth production.First, drug stores moved all the products with PSE behind the pharmacy and then asked you to sign a log when you bought a Claritin D or a NyQuil D. But now, chains such as Walgreens and CVS, have made the monitoring more efficient by creating a computer log of all purchases in their chains across the country."We call it smurfing. It's buying the limit of what you can buy legally at one store but then doing it in several locations," said Nancy Coffey, a manager in New England for the Drug Enforcement Administration. "If we get notified by a local police department that they think they have a small lab we may go to a pharmacy either to look at log book in neighboring areas to see if one name repeatedly comes up.""I mean it's tough when you're busy in the pharmacy, but it's for the greater good," Rana said.
VIDEO: Cough Up More Than Cash When Buying Allergy Meds"We have to see their license," Walgreens pharmacist Nirali Rana said.It's busy at the Walgreens Pharmacy in Lexington. Now, when you're looking for allergy or cold products with pseudoephedrine in it, you're being asked to give a little more time and a lot more information for a federal log."Make sure they're over 18 and put all the information in the computer system and that we monitor how much is bought per month, as well," Rana said.The concern is methamphetamine labs. The pseudoephedrine that is in a lot of allergy medications can be used to make the highly-addictive illegal drug. New federal laws mandated a monitoring system for drug stores to try and snuff out meth production.First, drug stores moved all the products with PSE behind the pharmacy and then asked you to sign a log when you bought a Claritin D or a NyQuil D. But now, chains such as Walgreens and CVS, have made the monitoring more efficient by creating a computer log of all purchases in their chains across the country."We call it smurfing. It's buying the limit of what you can buy legally at one store but then doing it in several locations," said Nancy Coffey, a manager in New England for the Drug Enforcement Administration. "If we get notified by a local police department that they think they have a small lab we may go to a pharmacy either to look at log book in neighboring areas to see if one name repeatedly comes up.""I mean it's tough when you're busy in the pharmacy, but it's for the greater good," Rana said. Copyright 2008 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
