CdA law will regulate cold medicine sales
Coeur d’Alene retailers now have to keep nonprescription cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter in an effort to reduce the manufacturing of illegal drugs.
The Coeur d’Alene City Council unanimously passed the law Tuesday night, hoping it will spark other North Idaho cities and counties to do the same. Ultimately Coeur d’Alene officials want the Idaho Legislature to enact a state law regulating the sale of products that contain pseudoephedrine, which is the main ingredient in the illegal drug methamphetamine.
“It’s a chance of maybe reducing the amount of meth labs in the area,” said Councilman Ben Wolfinger, who also is a Kootenai County Sheriff’s captain. “A lot of it is still being imported but some is still being made locally.”
Coeur d’Alene’s law also prevents anyone from buying more than three packages of the product at one time.
Washington already has a state law, passed in 2001, that makes it illegal to sell a person more than three packages of medicine containing “precursor drugs” that can be used illegally to make methamphetamine. The law also made it illegal to possess more than 15 grams of such medicines “unless the drugs found in their possession are consistent with typical medicinal or household use.”
Washington lawmakers recently toughened restrictions. Starting in January, people can buy only two packages of the medicine within 24 hours, instead of the current three. Also, merchants must keep the products behind the counter and sell them only to people 18 and over.
Washington also requires stores to record sales of the cold medicines, using written logs or electronic records, in what is billed a pilot project.
The law exempts medicines that combine the precursor drug with another ingredient that prevents the chemicals from being used to make meth – something that more and more cold medicine manufacturers are now doing.
Most Coeur d’Alene pharmacies, grocery stores and other retailers were already keeping the cold medicines behind the counter.
“We’ve been doing that for a couple years because, quite frankly, they kept getting stolen,” said Tim Brown, the owner of Interlake Pharmacy. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out to put it behind the counter.”
About 10 Idaho towns have already passed similar laws, but Coeur d’Alene is the first in North Idaho.
Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin said the city’s legal staff is reviewing Coeur d’Alene’s new law and should make a recommendation to the city council by next week. Larkin said the regulation makes sense.
Kootenai County Commissioner Rick Currie said he agrees with the intent of the law, but the county isn’t looking at regulating pseudoephedrine products, because there are very few stores in the county. He said it would make more sense for legislators to pass a law that would make regulation consistent statewide.
The Idaho Legislature attempted to pass a bill this session, but it failed because it would have only allowed pharmacies to sell the pseudoephedrine products, Wolfinger said. Retailers in rural areas opposed the bill because not all small towns have licensed pharmacies and many people buy cold medicine in grocery stores and quick stops.