KAMAKSHI TANDON, Reuters News Service
Copyright 2006 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
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TORONTO - Grocery stores in Canada will no longer be able to sell many popular cold and allergy remedies because they contain ingredients used to make a popular recreational drug, regulators said.
Pharmacies are exempt from the ban, which takes effect April 10, although some products will be moved behind the counter, said the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities, which governs the sale of medications.
The ban applies to 17 medications that contain ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which are used to make crystal methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth.
“The idea is that if you have fewer locations that are selling them, you have more opportunity for educating store personnel, monitoring sales and monitoring the use of the product,” Ken Potvin, NAPRA executive director, said last week.
Canadian police praised the move.
“It will impact the availability of precursor chemicals to clandestine labs,” said Sgt. Martin Blais of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
A 2004 RCMP report described a “strong rise” in the use of the drug.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers protested the ban.
“Common over-the-counter products have moved locations from the aisles in grocery stores to the aisles in pharmacies,” Gary Sands, the federation’s vice president, said in a statement. “It does nothing to address the problem of controlling the production of crystal meth and educating consumers.”
The ban in Canada follows similar moves in the states of North Carolina and Illinois.
January 22, 2006