POLICY LEAVES METH USERS OUT IN COLD

A touch of a cold drove Roebuck resident Ruthie Nash to a Wal-Mart shelf
about a month ago to pick up some medicine.

But a new company policy -- and maybe legislation -- could mean that next
time she will have to ask a pharmacist to hand her the nonprescription cold
medication instead.

"I would buy it, but it would take more time," Nash said.

This week, Wal-Mart joined Target and a growing list of companies planning
to move common cold medicines such as Sudafed and Sinutab behind the counter.

The move is intended to discourage abuse of medications containing
pseudoephedrine, an ingredient for making the illegal drug methamphetamine.

Meth labs have become commonplace across the Southeast, and local law
enforcement officers say it's a growing problem.

Meanwhile, a bill introduced in South Carolina has proposed allowing only
licensed pharmacists or pharmacy technicians to dispense the medicine.
Similar laws have been adopted in 11 states and are being discussed in
nearly two dozen others.

Spartanburg County resident Bonnie Earls, who considers herself a regular
Sudafed customer during the allergy season -- particularly now with all the
pollen in the air, says she understands completely.

She's a waitress at a diner now, but used to work in a convenience store
where cold medicine was quite the popular item -- particularly for shoplifters.

"It's good to have it behind the counter," she said.

What's happening now at stores in the Upstate

Some businesses in Spartanburg, such as Dollar General, already keep
commonly abused cold medications under a clerk's control.

Empty medicine boxes on the store's shelves direct customers to ask for the
product from the cashier.

Where cold medicines are kept at businesses such as Walgreen's Drug Stores
depends on the community that the individual store serves, said Carol
Hively, spokeswoman for Walgreen's.

"Some regions have a very severe methamphetamine problem. Some none at
all," Hively said. "We follow guidance of local law enforcement."

Of three Walgreen's in the immediate Spartanburg area, one has moved the
products from the shelf.

Walgreen's and others stores such as Wal-Mart also limit the quantity that
can be sold to two or three packages at a time.

"There are a number of things that we do voluntarily to try to make the
product available to the public who needs it and try to make it more
difficult for people who are using it illegally," Hively said.

Grocery stores with pharmacies, such as Bi-Lo, are paying close attention
to laws to guide how they sell the product. In Tennessee, for instance,
Bi-Lo stores had to remove such cold medications from their stores that did
not have pharmacies, said Joyce Smart, a spokeswoman with Bi-Lo.

Some stores address shoplifting issues by putting a limited number on the
shelf at time, she said.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office "Meth Watch" program a few weeks ago
led employees at Buford Street Drug Store in Gaffney to not only limit
purchases of potentially abused cold medicine, but also to pay more
attention to what people purchase with it.

Common materials used to make meth include camping fuels, lithium batteries
and matches, for instance.

Marion Patton, a pharmacist for the store, says the media attention to the
meth problem and education efforts seem to be making a difference.

"I think it's slowing down to be honest with you," Patton said. "People are
made aware of it, with the news and employees starting to watch people. I
think it's cutting down a little bit, at least it is here."

The problem

Methamphetamine has become a widespread problem, emerging on the West Coast
about a decade ago before moving east.

There were some 16,000 methamphetamine lab seizures last year, up from 912
in 1995, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

It is estimated the nation has about 1.5 million meth addicts, which
represents about 8 percent of the nation's 19 million drug users.

The drug is made by taking over-the-counter cold medicines and boiling them
down using highly toxic chemicals to siphon out the pseudoephedrine.

More than 30 meth labs were discovered in Spartanburg County last year.

The Sheriff's Office hosted seminars in March to help educate the community
about the dangers and signs of meth labs.

They alerted residents to signs such as the smell of ammonia or a
cat-urine-like odor as well as blacked-out windows or excessive padlocks.

In neighboring Cherokee County, law enforcement there launched a Meth Watch
program after noting an increase from finding about one meth lab a year to
about one a month.

Nationally, Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., has co-sponsored proposed
legislation to require pseudoephedrine no longer be sold over the counter.

"Meth has swept across the nation in recent years, leaving behind a trail
of destroyed lives, shattered families, crime sprees and hazardous waste,"
she said.

But changes to where the medicine is sold will have a small cost in
convenience to people who really need the medicine.

Nash, of Roebuck, can imagine going to a clerk, asking for the medicine,
removing it from the case -- all while other customers wait behind her in line.

"You could have just picked it up off the shelf," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.