Jul. 9–Sudafed — a popular drug for the common cold — is off the shelves thanks to drug abusers.
And each pharmacy has found its own way of handling the new state law.
“Everybody has got their own policy,” said Jack Joseph, pharmacist at Eisenhower Parkway Pharmacy in Macon. “I limit people to one box. When I found out there was an issue with (Sudafed), I said I don’t want to be a part of that.”
In effect since July 1, a state law requires any product whose single ingredient is pseudoephedrine to be placed behind a pharmacy’s counter. Customers will have to seek a clerk or pharmacist to buy it.
The law limits access to cold medications containing only pseudoephedrine products commonly used to make an addictive drug, methamphetamine, according to a Georgia Sheriffs’ Association news release.
“If you leave it on the shelf, you have no control over it,” said Jim Kennedy, owner of Kennedy Drugs on Poplar Street. “I think there is definitely a problem with meth use.”
The medicines affected by the law only include Sudafed and generic knockoffs, but Pfizer, which manufactures Sudafed, has already launched a version of the drug that does not include pseudoephedrine — called Sudafed PE.
“Regular Sudafed may last longer for some people,” said Erica Johnson, Pfizer spokesperson. “If you are a customer who wants to purchase Sudafed, we advise them just to follow the applicable rules.”
But widely varying procedures at retail outlets might leave some consumers confused.
Buddy Harden, executive vice president of the Georgia Pharmacy Association, said rules will vary per pharmacy but that they will all meet the state requirements.
“Others may go a little beyond that depending on what their management feels is best,” Harden said. “A lot of the larger retail stores have pulled it behind the counter even before the July 1st date.”
The Georgia law states that no more than three packages or nine grams of drugs that contain only pseudoephedrine can be sold per customer.
But Walgreens has limited the purchase of Sudafed to two packages in all of its pharmacies nationwide.
At CVS on Bloomfield Road, six different varieties of Sudafed that mix pseudoephedrine with acetaminophen remain on the shelves — while 24-hour and 12-hour Sudafed is placed behind the counter.
Go to Fred’s Pharmacy, however, and all nasal decongestants with any hint of pseudoephedrine are behind the counter – including Aleve, Claritin-D, and Drixoral.
Customers will be required to sign an inventory log and show identification.
“It’s no inconvenience at all,” said James Richard, 43, of Macon outside Kennedy Drugs.
Richard said a friend recently lost two kids to an explosion from a meth lab in a barn in Jones County.
“You have people out here just getting literally crazy with the Sudafed. They’re ruining lives.”
Police say the law will help stop “smurfing” — known on the streets as when several people go from one store to another buying thousands of Sudafed and ephedrine tablets.
“Methamphetamine is everywhere,” said Twiggs County Sheriff Darren Mitchum. “Methamphetamine use in Twiggs County is definitely a problem. It seems to be a never-ending problem, no matter how hard you combat it.”
Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant drug that induces a strong feeling of euphoria. Pure methamphetamine is a colorless crystalline solid, sold on the streets as glass, ice or crystal. It is also sold as a less pure crystalline powder, termed crank or speed.
Mitchum said meth drug pushers make the drugs with glass jars and tubes in makeshift meth labs.
Mitchum said he hoped the new law will be enforced and personnel at drug stores trained to spot abusers.
But some pharmacists feel the law does not go far enough.
“I don’t know how it’s going to regulate who is buying them,” said Nickie Shley, a certified technician at CVS on Mercer University Drive. “I don’t think it will be effective. There is no signing or an inventory kept on how many each person is getting.”
Milton Powell, owner of Powell’s Bloomfield Pharmacy on Bloomfield Road, agreed.
“I think it would help, but I don’t think it would stop it,” Powell said. “Anyway, there are other sources always available.”
Meanwhile, police say meth cooks keep sprouting up.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday, Bibb County deputy sheriff Ted Darley received a tip about a 35-year-old man cooking meth off Gailo Drive in rural Bibb County.
“He had a hot plate plugged up and ether inside of a container on that hot plate,” Darley said. “One unit of ether is equivalent to one stick of dynamite.”
Ingredients used to “cook meth” can create a “highly toxic and combustible atmosphere” that can cause an explosion, the sheriffs’ association release stated.
Darley said the fire department evacuated neighboring houses, and arrests were made for trespassing and trafficking.
“A lot of that stuff has cancer-causing agents and can cause severe burns,” Darley said.
Darley said meth users can go without sleep for days, have sores on their skin, dilated pupils, suffer from hallucinations, high fever, and “shakes.”
“They pinch and pull at their skin,” Darley said. “They absolutely just go nuts.”
Darley said recipes for “cooking meth” are available on the Internet.
“You have young people that sit on the Internet and learn how to do this stuff,” Darley said. “I’ve seen everything from a 13-year-old girl to a 60-year-old man cooking meth.”
Methamphetamine abuse also contributes to other crimes because addicts typically cannot keep jobs, so they commit other crimes to pay for their habit.
“People are stealing to feed their habit,” Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese said.
In Houston County, a methamphetamine lab explosion killed a Houston County man in August. Two people face felony murder charges in relation to that death.
“By (pharmacists) not keeping it so easily available on the shelves, it cuts down on this stuff,” Darley said. “Especially with younger teens who go on the Internet and get a recipe and then go to a drugstore and get some Sudafed. This has helped us tremendously.”
Staff Writer Becky Purser contributed to this article.
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