W.Va. Retailers Association lauds efforts to prevent diversion of OTC drugs for meth

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Through mid-November, a national registry of over-the-counter drugs considered chemical precursors to methamphetamine prevented more than 16,700 boxes of the drugs from being sold illegally.

The West Virginia Retailers Association heralded data showing that the National Precursor Log Exchange or NPLEx prevented the sale of about 16,753 boxes from being sold illegally, thus preventing more than 44,400 g from potentially being diverted to making meth. The congestion drug pseudoephedrine is a common ingredient in many OTC products for cold and allergies, but also is a key ingredient in the making of meth. Earlier this month, according to published reports, Rite Aid decided to stop selling OTC products that contain pseudoephedrine as their only active ingredient, though it would continue to sell combination products containing the drug.

"West Virginia's stop-sale system continues to prove its value in the fight against methamphetamine," West Virginia Retailers Association president Bridget Lambert said. "These most recent results again emphasize the importance of giving this new system time to work. Its benefit to retailers and to law enforcement cannot be overstated."