LAW LIMITS SALE OF OVER-THE-COUNTER COLD MEDICATIONS

People looking for certain cold medicines after Jan. 16 might have to
jump through a couple hoops to get them. The restrictions are
intended to cut down on the use of the medicines in methamphetamine production.

A new state law requires pharmacists to keep medicines with ephedrine
and pseudoephedrine behind the counter, limits the amounts customers
can purchase at a time and forces customers to show photo
identification and sign a log before purchasing the medicines.
Convenience stores also must keep the medicine behind counters or
locked in cases.

The restrictions are intended to curb production of meth, an illegal
and "devastating" drug, said Chief Deputy Kevin Hickey of the DeKalb
County Sheriff's Office. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, found in
medications such as Sudafed and Sinutab, are key ingredients in
making the drug.

People on meth experience sensational highs and then horrible lows,
he said. They often become addicted to it after a single use.

"Meth started in the west and has been spreading east," said Melissa
Merz, press secretary for the Illinois Attorney General's Office.
"Illinois has a meth problem, but so do the other states. We want to
make sure to fight it here as aggressively as possible so we don't
become a place where people come to cook it." The label on a bottle
of cough medicine indicates it contains pseudoephedrine. Chronicle
photo HOLLY LUNDH The restrictions dictate that people may not
purchase more than two packages containing ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine in 24 hours and more than 7,500 milligrams in 30
days. Customers must present identification and sign a log with their
names, addresses, dates of the transaction, the product brand and the quantity.

Workers may not sell the products to people under 18 and are to
verify customers' ages.

Pharmacies must maintain the log for two years and make it available
when police ask to see it.

Hickey said the restrictions are tools in battling meth production
and use, but they contain shortcomings.

People could get enough of the medicine to create meth by going from
pharmacy to pharmacy, he said. "The log is a good idea, but there's
no central depository for the information in the logs," he said.
Without a central depository, such as a computer database that links
pharmacies, the information would be difficult to use in catching
people buying enough to create meth, he said.

Merz admitted the shortcoming but said officers eventually would
notice patterns in the logs to catch people misusing the medicines.

Doing frequent cross-references of the logs would become cumbersome,
Hickey said. Still, any added steps, such as the restrictions, to
aide law enforcement are appreciated. He said Illinois Attorney
General Lisa Madigan, who proposed the legislation, and State Rep.
Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, should be commended for their work on bill.

Solid forms of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine already are behind the
counter at Osco pharmacies, said Jaunita Kocanda, public affairs
manager for Jewel-Osco. With the new law, liquid forms also will be
stored behind the counter.

The aisles that held the medicines will hold cards instead that give
information about them. People will take the cards to the pharmacists
to get the medicine.

She doesn't anticipate problems or additional work for pharmacists to
follow the regulations. She said the system is similar to what
pharmacists currently do with some teeth-whitening products and Rogaine.

But Tim Lehan, pharmacist at Lehan Drugs, 1407 S. Fourth St., said
the restrictions will create more work for pharmacists. They will
have to retrieve cold medicines for customers rather than having
customers pick them out themselves, check customer's identification
and oversee customers filling out the log.

He said the restrictions on the number of cold medicine boxes
customers can purchase at a time won't make much difference at his store.

Few local stores see misuse of their cold medicines, Hickey said, as
this area has had little meth production.

"We've been very fortunate in DeKalb County that we've somewhat
escaped the full scourge of meth labs," he said. Still, he said, it's
good to know legislators are working on the issue.