SPEED FREAKS ARE OUT IN THE COLD

DRUG dealers in the US are buying cold cures over the counter and
converting them into street drugs. The remedies contain pseudoephedrine
salts, which illicit drugs factories can convert into pure methamphetamine
(speed). WarnerLambert, the pharmaceuticals company which makes Sudafed
nasal decongestant, says it will soon announce a scheme that makes the
process "practically impossible".

Many decongestants contain pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, which can be
turned into methamphetamine using techniques described in underground books.

"We are aware of the abuse," says Nanna Bashi of Warner Lambert's
overthecounter drug advisory service. "The Sudafed problem is still mainly
in the US. But we have heard of abuse in Scotland with other
pseudoephedrine drugs. We are now at the final stages of research into a
global solution."

International patent application WO 97/37689, filed last year by
WarnerLambert's head office in New Jersey, warns that methamphetamine
abuse is becoming "increasingly common", and Californian hospitals have
seen a 300 per cent increase in cases over the past ten years.

The drug company will now add sulphur and ammonium salts to its tablets,
along with polyethylene oxide gum and sodium laurel sulphate surfactant.
The sulphur and ammonium produce a foul smell during the synthesis of the
illegal drug, and the gum and surfactant block the purification process.

In tests with the extra chemicals, the amount of pseudoephedrine recovered
from Sudafed fell from 89 per cent to zero, while that from generic
equivalents dropped from 98 per cent to zero. (Barry Fox)