State would track who buys cold medicine in real time to deter meth makers

Washington is already required to take down your information if you buy cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine — like Sudafed. But a bill being considered now by the House Health Care Committee (and aired live on TVW now) would require the Attorney General’s office to create a real-time database. That way, pharmacists would be able to see if someone is attempting to purchase more than two boxes of cold medicine in a day. And then they can deny the sale.

Rep. Tom Campbell, the bill’s sponsor, said this will be paid for by the drug manufacturers — and won’t cost pharmacies or the state extra. “It makes good sense” he said, to avoid “smurfing.”

“We currently have written logs … it’s cumbersome for the consumer and it’s cumbersome for us,” said Don Pierce with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. “We believe this is an excellent opportunity to fight meth.”

Alan Segal with the Consumer Health Products Association said the drug companies are paying for it because they got together and realized they needed to be part of the solution. So: For any state that passes a law requiring real-time tracking, they’ll foot the bill. He said the retailers will never have access to the information in the logs for marketing purposes.

Tags: meth