Drug officials in Iowa are urging lawmakers to create a real-time electronic database that would alert pharmacists when residents try to purchase more than the legal limit of pseudoephedrine -- the main ingredient in methamphetamine, which is contained in many cold and allergy medicines, the AP/Sioux City Journal reports.
The state in May 2005 passed a law that made the over-the-counter medicine a controlled substance and prohibited consumers from purchasing more than 7,500 milligrams of pseudoephedrine products at pharmacies in a 30-day period without a physician's prescription. The law also requires consumers to show state identification and sign paper logs when buying medicines containing psuedoephedrine.
Marty Ryan, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said narcotics officials already have solved most of the meth lab problem and said officials should focus on more important issues rather than tracking consumers' purchases.
Ken Carter, head of the state's narcotics bureau, said it would be difficult for police to compare paper records at the hundreds of pharmacies in the state to identify individuals who are purchasing more than the legal monthly limit by going to multiple pharmacies.
Individuals identified by the electronic database as purchasing more than their monthly limit of pseudoephedrine would be turned away, but a criminal investigation would not be necessary, the AP/Journal reports.
"This is for prevention, not law enforcement," Carter said. "We're not going to be out hunting pharmacists or pharmacies. We want to stop the flow of pseudoephedrine" (AP/Sioux City Journal, 1/15).