TARGET TO CLAMP DOWN ON COLD MEDICINES

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Discount retailer Target Corp. will no longer allow
unfettered access to cold medicines that are used to make the illegal
stimulant methamphetamine.

Target stores nationwide will pull many cold, allergy and cough remedies
from their regular shelves and sell them only from pharmacy counters, the
Minneapolis-based company announced Monday.

The restrictions apply to all over-the-counter drugs containing
pseudoephedrine, including children's medicines, tablets, liquids and
gel-caps, spokeswoman Carolyn Brookter said. Pseudoephedrine is a key
ingredient for meth, which can be made in makeshift labs.

The products won't be sold at all by about 300 Target stores that don't
have pharmacies. Target operates 1,330 stores in 47 states and is the
nation's second largest discount retailer after Wal-Mart.

Brookter said the shift, which will take effect in two to three months, was
in response to a growing number of state and local restrictions on the sale
of the medications.

"We know that this is going to be a change in behavior for our guests,"
Brookter said. "The products won't be on the shelves. It'll be a little
different."

Target says it's the first national retailer to take the step. The National
Association of Chain Drug Stores couldn't immediately confirm whether
Target's announcement was the first of its kind for a national retailer. A
Wal-Mart spokeswoman didn't immediately return phone messages.

Target's move won praise from Minnesota lawmakers pushing for tougher
measures to fight meth, which can be made using a variety of household
chemicals and pseudoephedrine.

"For them to take this lead I would assume that Wal-Marts and all the rest
of them will have to follow them very shortly," said state Sen. Julie
Rosen, a Republican who has been pushing strict restrictions on the sale of
meth ingredients. "There is a certain amount of community responsibility
these retailers should assume."

Target already had limited purchases of pseudoephedrine-containing drugs to
two packages at a time, Brookter said.

A number of states are following the example of Oklahoma, where
restrictions on sales of some cold medicines were followed by a dramatic
drop in the number of meth lab seizures.