POLICE PLAN TO HELP PHARMACIES FOIL DODGY CUSTOMERS

Police are investigating an electronic sales monitoring system for
pharmacies to stop cold and flu medications being used to manufacture
methamphetamine.

The value of the methamphetamine market in New Zealand is thought to
be more than $160 million a year.

Pharmacists often deal with questionable requests for drugs that
include pseudoephedrine, a precursor for making methamphetamine,
which is found in treatments for flu and colds.

Pharmacists must make their own judgments on the legitimate sale of
the drugs, unless other chemists warn them of people "doing the
rounds" trying to hoard pseudoephedrine.

Police hope to introduce an electronic sales monitoring system, based
on an Australian model, that allows pharmacies to share information
about pseudoephedrine sales.

Police National Drugs Intelligence Bureau spokesman Alun Newton said
an electronic system was probably 18 months away, after issues such
as privacy, funding and pharmacy involvement had been dealt with.

The technology already existed and it was probably just a matter of
pharmacies having broadband links.

"What we have a problem with is the person that goes from pharmacy A
to pharmacy B and C buying the drugs," he said.

"The system would allow pharmacy A to look at sales and see something
might not be right and question the person.

"By the time of the third or fourth sale, the decision will be able
to be made (about handing out the drugs)."

Newton said pharmacies often had the difficult task of questioning
someone about their use of pseudoephedrine-based drugs.

"This (a monitoring system) will enable pharmacies to talk to each
other about the sales," he said.

Police could then be notified.

The methamphetamine laboratories that police seized in New Zealand
tended to be "small domestic operations", but it was thought 75 per
cent were linked to gangs, he said.

Christchurch pharmacist Ray Sefton said he knew of people who "do the
rounds" for drugs. He refused to supply them.

His pharmacy had been targeted by thieves, he said.

Pharmacy Guild president Steve Wise said pharmacists wanted to ensure
medicines were not misused.

Pharmacists had to depend on their own judgment or colleagues ringing
them to warn of people collecting pseudoephedrine, Wise said.

"It can be an awkward situation because you can't judge a book by its
cover. It's awkward at times because we can deny legitimate use of
medicine," he said.

The monitoring could help pharmacists, but he was concerned about
privacy issues stemming from such a system.

"I would be concerned about what is done with the information," he
said. Wise had heard of incidents where people hired rental cars in
Christchurch and then travelled the South Island collecting
pseudoephedrine to make drugs.

It was hard for rentals to be traced.