IT WILL BE TOUGHER TO FIND COLD PILLS

Some Smaller Stores Will Stop Selling Cold Medications Rather Than
Keep Track Of The Sales

OLYMPIA - Cold and allergy sufferers may have trouble finding the
medicine they seek at the corner market next year.

Starting Jan. 1, some owners of minimarkets in the state are expected
to stop selling popular medications such as Sudafed, Actifed and
Claritin because a new state law requires them to log each sale and
obtain the signature of every buyer.

"When you have a cold or an allergy attack, don't turn to your
convenience store for any relief. The Legislature has put an end to
that," said T.K. Bentler, executive director of the Washington
Association of Neighborhood Stores.

Small market owners are reacting differently to the new rules.

Venus Gibbs, manager of the Everett Mall Chevron, said her store
isn't stopping sales. Store employees already keep track of the names
and license numbers of people who buy cold medicines, as well as the
type and quantity they buy.

"A lot of people say it's dumb, but they still do it; it hasn't
stopped our sales," Gibbs said.

A company in Bellingham will no longer sell single-dose packets of
the medications at its five Fuel Express stores in Bellingham, said
Matt Yorkston, the company's secretary-treasurer. Not enough money is
made to offset the hassle of record keeping, he said.

"To not have it is too bad," he said. "If we slip and don't log
something in, I'm unclear of what penalty we might face."

Keeping the log is part of the state's offensive against makers of
methamphetamine, who can cook up the drug using a mix of legal cold
medicines and volatile chemicals.

The law targets products sold in tablet form containing ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine. They are available at 4,800
stores and 1,200 pharmacies statewide. The gel cap and caplet
products are exempt, because they are not used in drug-making.

Since Oct. 1, the products have been sold from behind the counter,
and no one under age 18 can buy them. Valid photo ID is required for
a purchase.

Beginning Jan. 1, store employees must write down the name, address
and date of birth of the buyer, and the record must be signed by the
customer. The state Board of Pharmacy approved the requirements
earlier this month.

The Washington Food Industry may appeal the decision or challenge it
in court. Bentler's group and the Washington Retail Association also
oppose the board's action.

Clif Finch, vice president of the Washington Food Industry, said an
analysis of the costs and benefits of maintaining the logs should
have been done before the decision was made.

Mark Johnson of the retail group estimated that it will take three to
four minutes to get the information, adding a cost of up to a $1 per
transaction, depending on whether a clerk or a pharmacist does the
record keeping.

Organizations and their members also wanted the signature requirement
dropped. They contend it increases the threat of identity theft
because each time a customer signs, they will see the personal
information of those who went before them.

"It's very difficult for us in a conceivable way to protect the
privacy of the citizen," said Jason Moulton, a Safeway executive who
serves on drug-fighting panels for Snohomish County and the state.

Lawmakers wanted the log as a tool for law enforcement to review and
find serial purchasers who go from store-to-store buying up products
for cooking meth.

Retailers contend that thousands of pages of paper will be generated
that will be of little practical use to police. They said they would
rather see the state help develop an electronic or a Web-based
record-keeping system that could actually assist businesses and law
enforcement.

Steve Saxe, executive director of the Board of Pharmacy, said his
staff will craft a sample log businesses can use. Some chains, such
as Safeway, have created their own.

Reporter Scott Pesznecker contributed to this report.