ANTI-METH LAW ROILS DRUGSTORES

Trying to get rid of a little nasal congestion is turning into a big
headache.

A Georgia law that goes into effect today puts Sudafed and its generic
knockoffs behind counters. But widely varying procedures at retail outlets
have pharmacists confused about where to put some cold medicines and
consumers equally lost about where to find them.

The law requires that medicines whose sole active ingredient is
pseudoephedrine be placed behind a counter so that consumers will have to
ask a clerk or pharmacist in order to buy it.

The restrictions are aimed at limiting access to pseudoephedrine, a key
ingredient in the highly addictive drug methamphetamine.

The list of medicines affected by the Georgia law is small, including one
type of Sudafed pill and generic spinoffs.

There are 13 other kinds of Sudafed that are not affected, including a new
one that does not contain any pseudoephedrine.

Adding to the confusion is the fact many large retailers, including CVS,
Target and Wal-Mart, have their own guidelines regarding the sale of drugs
containing pseudoephedrine. In many cases, their policies are stricter than
Georgia's law and place medicines that contain any pseudoephedrine behind
the counter. Other retailers, such as Eckerd, are in the process of defining
new guidelines.

That means that in some retail stores, such as Target, consumers will have
to ask a clerk or pharmacist for any of about 180 products, including NyQuil
and some types of Claritin. In other stores, shoppers would have to ask only
for Sudafed and its generic cousins.

"It's tough, but once the guests realize why we made this decision, we hope
they understand," said Brie Heath, a spokeswoman for Target, where beginning
today consumers will have to ask to buy medicine with any pseudoephedrine.

"We realize this is an issue that affects everybody and every community,"
said Jacquie Young, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart.

The chain plans to place all products that contain pseudophedrine behind the
counter by Sept. 1.

Drugstores that are not part of a large national chain also were making
adjustments.

"It's a lot of confusion," said Anthony Sarrantonio, a pharmacist at Concord
Pharmacy in Dunwoody, where consumers will have to ask only for Sudafed and
its generic knockoffs. "I know their intention, but it seems like a band-aid
for a cancer issue." On Thursday, Sarrantonio said, he had to move about
four feet of products.

"It's pretty stupid. If you're trying to get rid of something, you should
really go after the drug at the source," said Todd Alford, 23, of Atlanta.

Illegal labs

The issue is the rampant manufacture of methamphetamine, which is made
illegally in thousands of makeshift labs across the country from
pseudoephedrine and toxic ingredients like ammonia, freon and iodine.

To cut down on the production of the deadly drug, more than 40 states have
enacted laws that limit in some way the sale of pseudoephedrine.

In Washington, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jim Talent (R-Mo.) have
sponsored federal legislation fashioned after an Oklahoma law that would
require all drugs that contain pseudoephedrine be placed behind the counter.
Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss is one of 32 co-sponsors of the Senate bill.

Georgia's law is a step in the right direction, said Talent, but it may not
go far enough to shut down meth cooks.

"Law enforcement believes very strongly that the way to stop the local labs
is to cut off the pseudoephedrine supply," the Missouri senator said
Thursday. "That's the jugular, that if you press down on it, it will kill
it."

He and Feinstein contend that criminal meth manufacturers can figure out a
way to make the drug from medicines that contain any pseudoephdrine.

Growing problem

The number of meth labs has doubled in five years to an estimated 17,000,
according to federal officials.

State Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) said he and other legislators were
willing to strengthen Georgia's law on access to pseudoephdrine if needed.
"If we see it's not strong enough, we can come back in a couple of years,"
he said.

At a Walgreen's on Piedmont Road in Atlanta, a sign that read "now available
in the pharmacy" hung Thursday where boxes of Sudafed once sat.

"They're just inconveniencing the people who are using it for its regular
use," said Kira White, 23, of Rochester, N.Y.

She questioned whether the Georgia law, which does not require purchasers to
sign for Sudafed, will have any effect. "If they are not going to keep a
record of who is purchasing this stuff, what is the point of restricting
it?" White asked.

Officials at Pfizer, which manufactures Sudafed, and drug abuse experts said
the restrictions were worth the inconvenience.

"It's worth trying to do something," said Dr. Randy Hatten, co-director of
the Drug Information and Pharmacy Resource Center at Shands Hospital at the
University of Florida.

"Meth is as bad a drug as I have seen."

Staff writer Joseph Montes contributed to this article.