To Fight Meth, Zale Drugs Makes Pseudoephedrine Prescription-Only
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Two local pharmacies, Warsaw mayor-elect Joe Thallemer and State Rep. Rebecca Kubacki are working to combat Kosciusko County’s meth problem.
Thallemer, whose duties as mayor begin Jan. 1, is asking local pharmacies to take the pure Pseudoephedrine, Sudafed and other generic equivalents, off its shelves. It is the cold medication that can be used to make methamphetamine.
Pseudoephedrine combined with anti-histamines, Mucinex, are not affected by this request.
Zale Drugs has already responded to Thallemer’s request by pulling Sudafed of its shelves Wednesday afternoon, according to Lloyd Shroyer, who owns the drug store with his wife, Becky.
However, Sudafed is available by prescription only at the pharmacy.
“We wanted to do our part in the community to step up and help to control the meth problem in our county,” Lloyd said.
Pill Box also is working to fight the local meth problem.
Currently, the Pill Box only sells Pseudoephedrine to patients that the pharmacy knows and are already in its system, according to Bill Winn, Pill Box Pharmacy owner.
Winn said he supports Thallemer’s efforts to take Pseudoephedrine off of local pharmacies shelves.
Winn’s suggestion would be to work with local physicians and ask them to start writing prescriptions for their patients who need pseudoephedrine then ask pharmacies to only dispense it with a prescription.
Thallemer said he has plans to talk to other local pharmacies this week to take Pseudoephedrine off its shelves.
Following Tuesday’s election, Thallemer said Tuesday night he is concerned about the methamphetamine problem and supports Kubacki’s efforts to make Pseudoephedrine a scheduled drug.
Warsaw City Council previously this year approved a resolution to support Kubacki’s efforts at the statehouse to make Pseudoephedrine a scheduled drug.
The proposal failed in the state legislature this year after opponents argued that requiring prescriptions hasn’t prevented abuse of other drugs and that such a step would increase costs for sick people.
During a telephone interview this morning, Kubacki said she plans to reintroduce a bill to the state legislature the first of the year asking that Pseudoephedrine be a scheduled drug.
“I think Joe’s efforts are wonderful and that he is tuned into what this community needs,” Kubacki said.
Kubacki said the cost of meth clean up is extremely high to the taxpayer when meth addicts are transported to burn units in other counties, as well as the cost for emergency personnel needed to respond to the incidents.
“I am asking for support of our local pharmacies to address the devastation caused by this terrible illicit drug,” Thallemer said.
Thallemer said families are ruined by meth that he calls “a menace.”
He said tax dollars are used to arrest, prosecute, clean up, provide health care to the addict, jail, rehabilitate, provide social services to the children and families that are left behind.
He said quite often, the cycle is repeated again and again.
“The people in our community that deal with this problem on a daily basis understand what needs to be done,” Thallemer said.
“I am in full support of them. While I fully understand that these local restrictions will not keep those desperately seeking the drug from leaving our community, it is critical for our community to take a stand.”
Thallemer asks residents to contact Kubacki in her efforts to make Pseudoephedrine a prescription drug.
