PHARMACY CHIEF WORK A BIG ASSET

I'm going to miss David Work when he retires at the end of this month
after 30 years as executive director of the N.C. Board of Pharmacy.

He's been a consumer watchdog and a refreshing voice on drug-related
topics.

His successor, Jay Campbell, 36, is a pharmacist and attorney,
formerly with the Charlotte law firm of Helms, Mullis and Wicker.

"I don't think David can truly be replaced," Campbell said. "He has
been unafraid to take on controversial issues, and that has been to
the profession's benefit."

I got to know Work in 1988, when the pharmacy board investigated the
deaths of two patients who got the wrong medicines during open-heart
surgery in Charlotte.

Instead of focusing only on the pharmacist who made the mistake, the
board suspended the license of the hospital pharmacy. That resulted in
policy changes that would prevent future mistakes.

But that wasn't the end of it.

Work only learned about the case because it was reported in the media.
So, he pushed the board to enact the nation's first rule requiring
pharmacists to report all drug-related deaths. It's one of Work's
proudest accomplishments, and it has produced surprising results.

Although controlled substances, such as Oxycontin, Dexadrine, Valium
and Xanax, are the most restricted and considered most dangerous by
law enforcement authorities, pharmacy board data found that commonly
used and easily obtainable drugs, such as Coumadin, cause more deaths.

Despite 14 years of this data, Work is disappointed that drug laws
haven't changed.

"I'm convinced the authorities don't care what you do with drugs as
long as you're not trying to have fun," Work said, only half in jest.

Along those lines, he's critical of efforts to make it harder to buy
over-the-counter cold and allergy products containing pseudoephedrine.
They are targeted because they are sometimes used to make
methamphetamine in so-called meth labs.

Work said most deaths associated with meth labs result from explosions
or fires from the use of solvents, such as acetone, which are easy to
buy.

Pseudoephedrine extracted from drug-store medicines is highly diluted
with binders and lubricants, he said. "The chemical yield is terrible."

He joked that the greatest harm to meth-makers might be bloody thumbs
from punching pills out of foil-wrapped packages.

But Work learned as a young pharmacist in Clinton, Iowa, that he can't
force people to agree with his views.

On Sundays, when he'd opened his drug store, the first customers were
often a few drunks who had run out of alcohol on Saturday night.

"They would walk over to the Mennen Skin Bracer and buy all we had,"
Work said. "They called it 'green lizard.' "

One week, Work hid the Mennen in a back room.

The next Sunday, the men didn't seem to notice.

They just grabbed the Aqua Velva.