COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The General Merchandise Distributors Council here, with the support of the Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Association, Washington, has joined other industry associations in fighting a proposed ruling and legislation that could curtail sales of well-known cold and allergy products.
Proposed by the Drug Enforcement Administration to control the making of illegal substances, the rule would require manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to register, report and record activity of products containing the drug pseudoephedrine. Sudafed, Contac, Actifed and Benadryl are among the products that contain the drug. Pseudoephedrine has been illegally imported or diverted from lawful use and combined with other chemicals to produce methamphetamine, known as "speed" or "crank." Two bills, one introduced by Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., and one proposed by the Clinton administration, would put even tighter controls on this drug and other precursor chemicals used in making illegal substances. The rule and bills are presently pending regulatory and legislative action.
NDMA reviewed the issue during its annual meeting held here last month. "This would cause terrific disruption [at retail]," James Cope, NDMA president, told SN during an interview. More than 300 drug manufacturing executives attended the meeting.
NDMA is asking that retailers be exempt from the proposed DEA ruling, said Cope, since it wouldn't be practical from a business standpoint to track single transaction sales of products containing the drugs in question.
"Retailers can't handle this, and there is no room behind the prescription departments at retail," Cope said. Besides GMDC, other associations backing NDMA's efforts are the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and NARD, representing independent retail pharmacy, both in Alexandria, Va., and the Food Marketing Institute, Washington. "The real problem is bulk suppliers and diverters. Big-time trucks coming from Mexico and 456 illicit labs in one county in California. That is where the DEA should spend its time and not with our products that are packaged in 60 tablets," said Cope.
While GMDC and NDMA support DEA's efforts to end illegal drug manufacturing, the organizations believe this ruling will ultimately result in retailers pulling products from shelves because of their inability to comply with a complicated ruling. Consumers would then be denied access to effective medicines. "We believe the DEA is wrong in pushing its current fight against the undeniable evils of methamphetamine to the point that its efforts threaten to deny consumers good and useful over-the-counter medicines," said Thomas Laughlin, senior vice president worldwide and general manager of U.S. consumer health care at Pharmacia & Upjohn, Kalamazoo, Mich., during his address as NDMA chairman.
In a letter to Colorado congressman Joel Hefley, Jerry Barnes, GMDC vice president of member affairs and education, said, "We would urge DEA to meet with drug manufacturers and retailers to determine whether more effective regulatory controls can be developed."
The proposals would not affect the manufacturing and wholesaling communities as much as they would retail. Manufacturers and wholesalers must already be registered with DEA and report movement of precursor chemicals in quantities over 1 kilogram.
