Pharmacy-only sales of cold remedies proposed in crystal meth crackdown

Some common cold medicines will soon be banished from corner stores and grocery retailers in four more provinces as part of an effort by a national pharmacy group to stop production of the street drug crystal meth.

Pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in some cold medications, can be used to produce a version of methamphetamine, the highly addictive street drug crystal meth.

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The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities says products containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine should be sold only in pharmacies. The move would apply to 17 cold and allergy products, such as Sudafed and Advil for Cold and Sinus.

Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, which opt into the group's recommendations, plan to implement the change on April 10. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have already made the move for products containing pseudoephedrine.

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Pharmacies across the country are on the lookout for people buying large amounts of pseudoephedrine products to make crystal meth at small-scale, "home cooker" operations.

The active ingredients in the cold medications are mixed with such things as red phosphorus, iodine, ammonia, paint thinner, ether, Drano and the lithium from batteries to make the street drug.

Neila Auld, registrar of the P.E.I. Pharmacy Board, said drug dealers find it easy to buy armloads of the cold remedies in corner stores.

"Based on the risk to the public, with the illicit use of them, it was decided to schedule the products back into pharmacies only," said Auld. "These products [are] still accessible to the public and quite readily accessible, but they will be supervised through more control sales."

The goal is to control the amount of products being purchased by requiring people to consult a pharmacist to access the drugs from behind the counter.

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The RCMP welcomed the move. A report by the force said police busted 40 clandestine crystal meth labs in 2004 in Canada, compared to 14 in 1999.

But the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers objected to moving the products from grocery stores into pharmacies only.

"It does nothing to address the problem of controlling the production of crystal meth and educating consumer," federation vice-president Gary Sands, said in a statement.