PHARMACISTS FIGHTING METH LABS

Oklahoma Drug Stores Show More Paperwork Is No Big Deal

When Gov. Joe Manchin proposed that the state adopt an Oklahoma law to
fight methamphetamine labs, Richard Stevens, a lobbyist for the West
Virginia Pharmacists Association, said that will drive up the cost of all
drugs.

The bill would place certain over-the-counter medications behind the
counter because they contain a small amount of a very potent drug used in
the manufacture of meth.

"You can only have registered technicians behind the counter, so these are
the higher-paid positions in a pharmacy," Stevens told the Daily Mail's Jim
Wallace.

"Then you've got the inventory control. You've got your reporting to
distributors and wholesalers. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) is involved
there. Then you have to do the reporting of each transaction to the
repository."

Despite the rise in costs, Stevens and many pharmacists support the
governor's efforts to combat meth.

"Innocent people are getting hurt, and lives are being destroyed," said
Barbara Smith, a pharmacist at Staats Pharmacy in Spencer. "It would seem
to be at epidemic proportions right now. I do feel there needs to be
control of it somehow to track sales."

This week, pharmacists from Oklahoma made their pitch to lawmakers.

"It requires a little paperwork, but it's not a big deal," said Dani Lynch,
owner of Thrifty Pharmacy in Oklahoma City. "We think it's a wonderful
thing. It has reduced our meth labs considerably, and we want to push it
onto other states."

Their decision to lobby for a bill that increases their paperwork and their
expenses is a refreshing change of pace. Businesses usually complain about
regulation, and with good cause.

But some rules are necessary.

If the local drug store has to pay a little more or loses a sales or two
because of this proposal, so be it. After all, the fellow for whom the
Trooper Nik Green Act was named paid with his life when a meth addict
killed him during a raid.

The pharmacists are doing the right thing in campaigning for this bill. The
Legislature should, too.