Methamphetamine makers who shop at a local pharmacy are out of luck. Drug manufacturers have come up with a new cold medication formula. Nexafed contains psuedoephedrine, which is the active ingredient in meth, but can’t be easily used to make the illicit drug. Walgreen’s pharmacist Joe Lark says his store has a new policy.
“We’re not selling any Sudafed to anybody over-the-counter, we’re only selling Nexafed. If people have prescriptions that say they have a legitimate use for it, we’ll sell it to them with a prescription only. We’ll still keep a very small amount in stock, but if anybody wants it from now on and they come up to our counter, they’re going to get Nexafed,” said Lark.
Lark hopes the reformulated cold medication will help stem the meth epidemic. He says demand for opiate pain medications has dropped significantly since drug companies developed formulas that can’t be easily crushed and snorted or melted and injected.
