ONE SMALL STEP TOWARDS CURBING CRYSTAL METH

It's the next step as of April 10 in Ontario, grocery stores with no
pharmacy have been instructed to not sell cold, allergy and cough
medications containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, ingredients used
in the illegal manufacturing of methamphetamine, also known as crystal
meth.

The products will only be sold in Ontario pharmacies from now on, as
outlined in a controversial direction from the Ontario College of
Pharmacists.

The move is in answer to a growing belief that the manufacturing and
therefore distribution of crystal meth can be curbed by limiting one
of the main ingredients of the drug.

The recommendation was made in January.

Pure ephedrine and pseudoephedrine drugs will be behind the counter,
with patrons having to request the drugs for purchase, will help
pharmacists to keep track of who is buying the drugs. Purchasing cold
medications in large quantities is a red flag that it is being used to
"cook" methamphetamine.

While there is some controversy over the move the Canadian Federation
of Independent Grocers advised its Ontario members that they do not
legally have to comply we think that it's a promising step. It's
certainly not the end solution of the rapidly growing drug problem,
but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Ontario is not alone last November, Manitoba and Saskatchewan made the
first move by announcing that 17 different cough and cold remedies
containing pseudoephedrine could only be sold at pharmacies and must
be stored behind the counter.

We realize that the availability of crystal meth will remain, but we
can hope that by limiting the availability of the ingredients, we can
begin to curb the drug and start to prevent it from reaching the hands
of criminals and potential abusers.

We applaud all those pharmacists and store-owners who are complying
with this new rule. As for store patrons, requesting your cold
medication over the counter is a small sacrifice to prevent more
youths from getting hooked.