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Fred Meyer puts Sudafed behind counter The chain wants to stop thefts of the drug, which can be used to make meth By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune If you want to buy Sudafed at a Fred Meyer store these days, you'll have to ask for it. Fred Meyer stores have moved the popular cold medication behind their counters because some people buy - or steal - large quantities of it to make methamphetamine. A new Oregon law limits the single-purchase amount of Sudafed and other medicines to restrict access to "precursor" chemicals that can be used to manufacture the powerful stimulant. The list of newly restricted chemicals includes pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in Sudafed and other cold medicines; iodine, often used by ranchers to care for livestock; and MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), a newly popular arthritis treatment. The law, which took effect Jan. 1, sets the single-sale amount at 9 grams for pseudoephedrine. That means people can still legally buy several hundred doses of cold medicine, which is typically packaged in 30- or 60-milligram doses. (There are 1,000 milligrams in a gram.) The new law expands Oregon's Controlled Substances Act, which limits access to hundreds of chemicals often found in over-the-counter cough and cold remedies and diet aids. Oregon lawmakers deliberately made the single-sale amounts large enough to avoid inconveniencing legitimate buyers, said Gary Schnabel, executive director of the Oregon Board of Pharmacy. "They tried to imagine a family of three or four people," Schnabel said, "who all came down with a cold at the same time in the middle of winter." Schnabel said Oregon State Police pressed the Legislature to restrict sales of the chemicals because "people were buying this stuff by the case to make methamphetamine." The legitimate medicines provide nearly a gram-for-gram equivalent amount of the illegal drug, which can be manufactured quickly and easily with little specialized equipment. Schnabel said iodine was added to the restricted category because it can be used as a catalyst to speed up the meth-cooking process. Meth makers used to buy it by the gallon from farm-supply stores, but the new law limits one-time sale of products such as Betadine (a form of buffered iodine) to 2 ounces, an amount that might last an ordinary family for several years. MSM, the arthritis drug, is also on the list of newly-restricted substances. Schnabel said rules setting the single-sale amount have not been finished, but discussions have focused on setting the amount at 2 pounds, which would be the equivalent of months of the suggested daily dose of 1,500 milligrams. While some large chain stores have restricted access to some of the medicines, many smaller stores and pharmacies have left them on the shelves. "We keep a small amount of Sudafed on the shelves compared to what Fred Meyer or Costco would have," said Jack Sabin, owner of Ashland Drug. "All of our clerks know that if anybody is trying to make a large purchase, the pharmacist steps in." Sabin said illegal-drug makers have grown increasingly sophisticated about using obscure chemicals to produce controlled substances. To keep pharmacists up-to-date, some chemical-supply firms now routinely advise their pharmacy customers about materials that can be used to produce controlled substances. Schnabel said the new law will most likely hit small-scale meth-cookers the hardest, but big-time operators will find ways around it. He noted that drug makers learned to use pseudoephedrine as a raw material when ephedrine became available only by prescription. "Each time (the Legislature) does something like this they make it a little harder," he said. "But the cookers are pretty ingenious. They always find another way." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.