Many area pharmacies yet to link to state database to track pseudoephedrine sales

Like others in Missouri, several pharmacies in Cape Girardeau and Jackson have yet to connect to a statewide database that tracks the sale of pseudoephedrine products.

The new electronic tracking database went online Sept. 28 and requires pharmacists to enter information, such as name, date of birth and signature, of people purchasing products containing pseudoephedrine, a key component in making methamphetamine.

The database is intended to prevent buyers from purchasing more than the maximum amount of pseudoephedrine allowed by Missouri law. Cape Girardeau County has seen a spike in cold-medicine sales the last few months, according to the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force.

It's also going to be an important tool for police seeking to arrest people before they begin making the illegal drug, according to task force supervisor Kevin Glaser.

"It's good that it's tying all the pharmacies together. It's going to help reduce those individuals who are going from pharmacy to pharmacy," Glaser said. "It's going to be a 'stop sale' for a lot of people, where they go in and they find they've exceeded their limits."

Jacqueline Lapine, media director with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said because the database has only been in effect for just more than one week it's not likely many pharmacies will be connected. The chain establishments, such as Walmart and Walgreens, will be some of the first to be online, she said, while smaller, locally owned stores will wait longer to be connected to the database.

John McMullin, owner of John's Pharmacy in Cape Girardeau, said his shop isn't connected to the database but that he has contacted Appriss Inc., the Louisville, Ky., company providing the tracking system.

"There's no question it's going to be effective," McMullin said of the database. "It's also pretty pricey for the pharmacies."

McMullin said he'll spend around $500 to connect to the database and train employees how to use it.

Jackson Walmart pharmacy manager Keith Campbell said his store hasn't implemented the new system yet, although it currently uses a tracking system that logs the buyer's signatures electronically and requires them to show a driver's license.

"I really don't know what it's going to consist of or how long it's going to take to get it up and running," Campbell said. "Knowing Walmart, though, they'll get the upgrade and have it running by the compliance date."

The regulation requires the state's more than 1,300 pharmacies to be using the database by the end of the year.

Steve Horst, owner of Horst Pharmacy in Jackson, said he plans on connecting to the electronic database, but how soon he gets online depends on action the city's board of aldermen may take on making pseudoephedrine-based medicines available by prescription only.

The Jackson Board of Aldermen discussed the pseudoephedrine by prescription-only ordinance Monday but didn't vote on the issue.

"They're absolutely 100 percent behind it," said Glaser, who delivered a presentation to the board. "I anticipate their next meeting it'll be voted on, and I'm certainly expecting it to be approved over there."

The Cape Girardeau City Council discussed a similar ordinance at its Monday meeting, tabling the issue so city staff could do more research on the topic.

Mayor Harry Rediger told council members they need to discuss the issue again because communities like Sikeston, Dexter and Poplar Bluff have passed their own ordinances, driving up sales in Cape Girardeau.

"It almost started to seem like the Cape and Jackson area are becoming an island. They're knocking on our door to get this," Rediger said. "It all came to a head last week when the drug task force did a raid in the Bootheel. They traced all the product back, and all of it came out of Cape Girardeau."

Although the council didn't vote Monday, each member spoke on the topic. Councilwoman Debra Tracy told the council about the action taken by the state, which she said, is what a few months ago the council was hoping what would happen.

"I thought that's what we wanted them to do. I mean, that's the most important move that could be made," Tracy said. "The tracking is hugely important, because it identifies the persons buying."

Kathy Swan said she's always been in favor of the ordinance, as it protects the families in Cape Girardeau.

"We have a responsibility to the children in the community because we do not want children to have access to meth," she said.

Glaser said the implementation of the prescription-only ordinances and pharmacies connecting to the statewide database is like a "twofold attack" on Missouri's struggle with methamphetamine.

"You can't just attack it on one front. People shouldn't think it's going to stop labs," Glaser said. "It's going to greatly inconvenience those people, and they're going to have to go to great lengths to find their pseudoephedrine."

ehevern@semissourian.com

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