SALES RESTRICTED FOR FAMILY OF COLD MEDICINES LINKED TO STREET DRUG

P.E.I. Pharmacy Board Tightens Rules For Sales Of Medication Containing
Decongestants Used To Make Crystal Meth.

A family of cold medicines linked to production of the street drug crystal
meth is being heavily restricted in Island pharmacies and banned altogether
from stores where a pharmacist won't be able to monitor drug sales.

The Prince Edward Island Pharmacy Board announced this week that it is
tightening the rules around the sales of non-prescription medicines that
contain the decongestants pseudoephedrine or ephedrine.

The ingredients are found in such medicines as Sudafed, Advil Cold and
Sinus, and some Benalyn cough syrups.

In all there are hundreds of cold, cough and allergy products that contain
the two restricted ingredients.

Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine are considered safe as they are presently
sold, hence the lack of restrictions until now.

But pharmacy regulators across the country have been urged to restrict
these cold remedies because of their role as a key ingredient in the
production of the crystal meth, a highly addictive and dangerous stimulant
with effects similar to a powerful amphetamine.

Neila Auld, registrar of the Pharmacy Board, said she isn't aware of any
cases of crystal meth showing up on P.E.I.

"It's more of a problem that they're seeing in western Canada right now,"
Auld said.

"I'm not sure if the meth that's being made there has been made using cold
medicines or if they're seeing people use single-ingredient pseudoephedrine
that may have been smuggled over the border in bulk.

"People can use cold medicines and combine them with a few other
ingredients to produce crystal meth and they end with a deadly drug. I'm
told it's something that's almost instantly addictive."

Under the new rules, medicines like Sudafed where pseudoephedrine is the
primary ingredient will be moved off pharmacy display shelves and sold only
from behind the druggist's counter.

Medicines, such as cough syrups, where pseudoephedrine and ephedrine are
offered in combination with other medicines will have to be moved to the
shelves immediately in front of the pharmacist. In stores that combine
pharmacy and other departments, the restricted medicines won't be available
at times the pharmacist is absent.

The new restrictions take effect April 1.

"Stores that don't have pharmacies won't be able to sell these products, so
this is a bit of time to allow them to sell off their stock," Auld said.

"There will be some of our member stores that will have to move shelves or
install lock-up cabinets to restrict these medicines when the pharmacist
isn't present. This will give them some time to take care of that."

Auld said non-pharmacy retailers will still be able to offer a range of
cold products that don't contain the restricted ingredients. She said there
are reports that some of the combined-ingredients formulations are being
redesigned to include decongestants other than pseudoephedrine and ephedrine.

"We just want these products to be able to be supervised where they are
sold," she said. "If a pharmacist sees someone going with 24 bottles of
hydrogen peroxide, they'll be able to ask questions and to step and stop
that from being sold."