WAR ON MEDICINE?

To The Editor:

The letter "Cold Medicine" that Ms. Nina Denny wrote resonates what is
happening across the country. Unfortunately Ms. Denny and her fiancee
are innocent victims of the misguided war on drugs by simply trying to
provide enough cold medicine for their entire family. The scrutiny
they received not only can happen at Wal-Mart but at other major chain
stores such as Walgreen's, Dominick's, Jewel-Osco, CVS and Hy-Vee.

The three package limit of products containing pseudeophedrine is
often a voluntary measure put in place by the large retailers at the
recommendation of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). I could find no
federal statues that actually regulate the sale of cold medicine but,
several states like Arkansas, California, Iowa, Missouri, Oregon,
Washington, and North Carolina, have enacted laws limiting the sales
of cold medicines containing pseudeophedrine.

In an attempt to control the methampetamine problem the government has
enlisted the aid of stores like Wal-Mart to observe and regulate the
purchasing activity of law-abiding citizens who are buying legal
household goods which just happen to be used illegally by a very small
percentage of the population, so if your shopping practices don't
coincide with the guidelines set forth by the government or Wal-Mart,
you come under the scrutiny of an astute cashier.

Furthermore, cold medicines aren't the only products to come under
observation, some stores are currently keeping an eye on 21 other
items such as brake cleaner, heat gasoline additives, coffee filters,
and lithium batteries. Wal-Mart limits the sale of lithium batteries
to four packs per customer. Now, anyone who likes to stock up on items
needed for illness or emergencies, like the ice storm of '98' come
under the watchful eye of big brother. Some say these measures are
necessary but in the words of Mike Van Winkle, spokesman for the
California Department of Justice, " The truth is, in California, even
after these laws were passed, we still saw increases in meth labs each
year."

Lee Monnet