PHARMACIES PUT SUDAFED BEHIND COUNTER

Those with only minor colds and allergies may still have to see a
pharmacist to get relief.

Stores across the country are pulling the nasal decongestant,
pseudoephedrine, also known by its shelf name, Sudafed, off shelves and
placing it back with pharmacists, due to its use as an integral ingredient
in the illegal production of methamphetamine. Some stores in Bowling Green
are following suit.

Just yesterday, Rite-Aid pharmacies placed the last of its medications
containing any pseudoephedrine behind the counter.

"By the first week in May we had pulled single-ingredient Sudafed behind
the counter; and by August 1, we moved all combination ingredients," said
Judy Cook, spokesperson for Rite-Aid. "The decision was made so we could
help our law enforcement and ensure safer communities where we have to work."

Methamphetamine, also known as meth - or ice, glass and crystal in its pure
form, and crank or speed, when made into a less pure, crystalline powder -
is an increasingly popular drug used for its euphoric effects, which
incorporate increased energy, motivation, mental focus and alertness.

Methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule II illegal substance by the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Users smoke, snort, swallow or inject the
drug. When smoked, the meth is heated by flame, but not burned, in glass
pipes or tin foil.

The "cooks," as producers are called, combine various chemicals, which are
often flammable, to produce the drug. Explosions sometimes result from
production and when law enforcement finds an abandoned site, they often
call in a hazardous materials team to clean up.

"These guys leave behind an environmental mess," said Larry Mershman,
executive director of Wood County alcohol, drug addiction and mental health
services board.

Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said the production of methamphetamine
in the Bowling Green area is increasing.

"I think so far this year, we've had between five and eight [discoveries or
busts of meth-labs]," said Wasylyshyn. "It's going to be a problem anywhere
where the ingredients are available."

Last year, Oklahoma passed a law banning the sale of over-the-counter
medications containing pseudoephedrine. Soon after, Iowa and Kentucky
restricted the drug to the hands of pharmacists.

Although Ohio has no such laws, companies like Meijer and Rite-Aid recently
made the decision to put the drug back with their pharmacists, who are
given discretion as to whom they sell pseudoephedrine.

Skip Glassford, owner of Jak's Public Pharmacy in Bowling Green, said he
decided not to pull the medication from shelves.

"I don't have anybody coming in and buying large quantities of Sudafed,"
Glassford said. "We're not a big pharmacy and the same people work here
everyday. You're allowed to sell 100 count bottles, but you're supposed to
raise your eyebrows when they buy multiple bottles."

Glassford said it would be bad for consumers, especially in the Black Swamp
area, if more states banned medications containing pseudoephedrine, or if
stores discontinued their sale, because of their effectiveness in treating
allergies.

"The bad thing is, it's the only decongestant besides phenylephrine that
unplugs your sinuses," he said.

Wasylyshyn said the agrichemical, anhydrous ammonia, is another component
in the production of methamphetamines that draws manufacturers to the Wood
County area.

"It's easy to get the anhydrous ammonia here, being in the Corn Belt," he said.

Mershman said the amount of secluded, rural areas around Bowling Green is
also attractive.

"What happens, is these meth-labs set up in some of the obscure,
low-populated places in the county, like in abandoned barns," Mershman said.

Mershman said the presence of make-shift laboratories anywhere indicates
usage problems in a surrounding area.

"It doesn't take a whole lot to know that if you have these labs for
methamphetamine, the customer base isn't far away," he said.

According to a recent survey by the National Association of Counties, of
500 law enforcement agencies in 45 states, 58 percent said meth was their
most problematic drug. The survey found the highest concentration of
reported methamphetamine abuse on the West Coast and Upper Midwest, while
16 states reported 100 percent increases in meth-related arrests in the
last three years, including Ohio.

"It's a problem here," Wasylyshyn said.