New Sudafed to help fight against meth

A major drug manufacturer is producing a new cold medication that could make the number of methamphetamine crimes shrink and save police some headaches.

A new form of Sudafed that does not contain pseudoephedrine is expected to be delivered to retailers across the country sometime in February. Pfizer Inc., which makes Sudafed, says it will market Sudafed PE as an alternative to the regular product.

Pseudoephedrine extracted from cold medicine is a key ingredient in making methamphetamine. Missouri has led the nation in the seizure of meth-making labs since 2000.

"Hopefully it will supplant pseudoephedrine and it will go away," Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said regarding Pfizer's new product. "If it doesn't, then it will be one more thing that will help us out."

Instead of pseudoephedrine, Sudafed PE contains phenylephrine, said Jay Kosminsky, a spokesman for Pfizer in Morris Plains, N.J. Phenylephrine is not used in making meth.

Phenylephrine is not a new chemical, Kosminsky said. Pfizer has marketed it successfully in Europe for several years, and is now bringing it to the American market in response to concern over illegal use of pseudoephedrine in methamphetamine production.

"We have done consumer testing that shows that the vast majority of the public who are satisfied with Sudafed will be satisfied with Sudafed PE," Kosminsky said.

Kosminsky said the cost of Sudafed PE would be comparable to regular Sudafed.

Tougher drug laws

Introduction of the new medication comes as Missouri and most states that border it are either proposing or have passed legislation making any starch-based pill containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine a class five restricted drug.

Only pharmacies would be able to sell such drugs, and customers would have to show identification and sign for them. Restricting the pills would make virtually inaccessible the key ingredient for making methamphetamine.

Liquid and gel-cap forms of Sudafed would not be restricted because law enforcement officers believe it is not as easy to extract pseudoephedrine from those forms of cold medications.

Pfizer has no plans to pull regular Sudafed pills off the market, but is offering Sudafed PE as another choice.

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan has been a driving force behind getting legislation presented in Jefferson City to make starch-based pseudoephedrine products a class five drug. Jordan has said that there may be some opposition to the bill.

Kosminsky said he doesn't think Pfizer will oppose any state's legislation, but the company will have some things to say. Pfizer would prefer, he said, that the sale of cold medicines such as Sudafed not be limited only to pharmacies, but also include large chain stores or supermarkets that have shown an ability to keep products secure and make the products more broadly available to people who really need them.

Kosminsky added that Pfizer doesn't agree with keeping liquid medicine and gel-caps readily available. He said that there are ways to extract the pseudoephedrine from those forms, although it is more difficult.

"We have done extensive testing with law enforcement," he said. "The fact is all these products can be converted."

Apparently, retailers associations are not yet opposing the proposed legislation. Some retailers have already limited the number of packages of cold medicine they put on the shelves and some have even put products containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter. Taking these products away from convenience stores and other small markets may affect their profit, but there has been no organized opposition.

Jim Maurer, one of the owners of the Rhodes 101 stores, said convenience stores tend to sell cold medicines such as Sudafed in single-dose units instead of packages with 18 or 24 pills. Maurer said the stores have complied with keeping the pills behind the counter because they're trying to cooperate with law enforcement on the meth situation. But still, he said, it's an inconvenience.

"The masses are being punished for the problems of a few again," he said. "There are some people who truly have a legal use. It's a shame they're the ones being penalized."

Maurer said he expects his distributors to bring Sudafed PE to Rhodes 101 stores when it becomes available. He said he is unaware of any organized opposition among small retailers to taking the products away, but at the same time he believes it should be available to people who are buying it legally.

"We will follow whatever guidelines are put into effect," he said.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

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