Add Target (in MD at least) to the list of stores restricting cold meds...

[Debbi801]

Grrr. I have a horrible cold which is quickly turning into a sinus infection, I think. My almost 10 yr old has it too, as does my 2 yr old. So, for obvious reasons, I was trying to buy 3 different types of cough & cold medicine over the weekend. No can do. The cashier tried ringing them in and the register would only allow me to buy one package of meds. So, I had to choose between treating myself, my almost 10 yr old, or my 2 yr old.

The manager claimed they had to start limiting quantities because people are using the cold meds to get high. I told her that if someone wanted it badly enough, they would just steal it, limiting purchases wasn't going to help anyone.

We wound up having to make 2 add'l stops in order to buy all of us meds. Absolutely absurd.

Debbi

[SCDem]

1. Those common cold meds are also

being used in meth labs and I think that is why they are making an effort to make them less accessible. But I totally understand your situation.

[TrueAmerican]

4. Does Rush

shop there?

[LynzM]

2. Fun....

When I lived in Indiana, they limited the amount of Sudafed you could buy, and kept it stocked behind the counter. Of course, people were using it to make Meth, and would just send a few different people in to buy 3 boxes each... I witnessed that one. Sad :( Sorry you had to go through so much hassle to get your meds!

[TrueAmerican]

3. Just

go out to your car and return for additonal meds. What would they do about that?

[meegbear]

5. BJs Wholesale club does it too

all the med price signs say "limit 2". I didn't ask if that mean 2 total or 2 of each med.

[Pirate Smile]

6. It is national Target policy. I had the same thing happen. Everybody

was sick. I needed infant drops, the children's liquid (for my daughter, and my son will only take the chewable pills. I also needed the drowsy and non-drowsy medicine for the Hubby and I.

Yes, I was also pissed at the time. They do this all the time and everywhere in the country. Now you know so you can go somewhere else if you need to buy a bunch of medicine.

I still love Target anyway.

[Philostopher]

7. It's weird, here in Ohio.

We went up to Cleveland over the summer for a weekend, and the drugstores up there only sold Sudafed 24-count boxes, kept them locked up in the pharmacy area after the pharmacy closed (we were in a 24-hour store, maybe a Cub Foods), and there was a sign that said something about restricted sales. Other places, you can still buy the 96-count bottle right off the shelf, and there's no restriction at Walgreen's at all in my neighborhood.

Sudafed is used to make crystal meth, and there are teenagers who abuse dextromethorphan, the most-used cough suppressant -- Robitussin makes one that's all DXM, and most drug store chains make a generic version. Because it's mostly high school kids, and most of them don't have a working knowledge of cold meds, they'll abuse stuff that's not just DXM, but also has other meds in it -- like the active ingredient from Sudafed, which can give you a heart attack if you OD on it. I'm fairly sure that's another thing they restrict in some places.

I'm not sure what it says about us, as a society, that common cold medicines are so abusable. I'm pretty sure Big Pharma didn't know dextromethorphan was a hallucinogen at higher doses. I'd imagine if they really cared about 'us' out here, they'd find another active ingredient or find a way to denature DXM so it didn't produce this effect (anybody remember when they started putting mustard seeds in airplane glue, back in the early '80s, because kids were getting brain dammage from sniffing glue?).

It's easier to put the responsibility on the drug outlets for that stuff, though, and cheaper for Big Pharma, so instead of 'fixing' the problems at the source, which I imagine would be possible (though I am not a chemist, maybe it isn't), instead we end up having to drive all over town to get enough cold medicine for more than two people.

[MemphisTiger]

8. I don't get this

It's my understanding that you would need so much sudafed to get enough of the meth drug needed that it is cost prohibitive. I have heard of farm supplies being stolen for one of the other drugs, I think it's ammonia. So the point is that the policy is ridiculous. I think they are just trying to get you to buy it on the prescription level and charge more because if it comes from a pharmacist it is better, right. (Note the sarcasm)

[Bridget Burke]

9. If you're that sick & you've got sick children....

There might come a time when a doctor is needed. I do hope you have coverage--but self-medication over a long period of time is not wise.

[lostnfound]

10. Same here yesterday! I couldn't believe it!

The docs tell you to treat the kid for only the symptoms he has, not to give a multi-symptom cold formula when all he needs is an antihistamine, etc...but try to buy more than one (to save a trip to the store a day or two later when the cough is gone but the sinus drip isn't gone) and you run into this problem!

I was feeling sorry for moms with more than one sick kid at a time. A typical kneejerk reaction and a ridiculously stupid policy.

[flamingyouth]

11. It's a state law in Washington

[Mr. Brown of MD]

12. Only one? That's a little weird.

I don't know why Target is really cutting it down that much. Several stores have similar variations on this policy. I used to work at the local Food Lion when they unveiled something like this. We were told it was a policy being handed down by the DEA, although I'm not sure how true that is since apparently it's not a uniform rule across different companies. At any rate, at our store you are limited to three packages of meds that come up as *MTH on the receipt tape. I can certainly understand the reasoning behind this, assuming that it's true that common cold meds being bought from stores are being used to make whatever drug it is they're trying to thwart.

My biggest complaint is that they don't have a note about this on the shelf, or indicate what does and doesn't count against the three meds, you're left to find out about it at the register from a cashier who may or may not really understand what's happened.

[skygazer]

13. I believe it is either federal or state law

I work in a Safeway and we cannot sell more than 3 at a time. It's one of those knee jerk reaction things to people who have meth labs. What no one seems to realize is that these people will do either one of two things - go from store to store or steal the items off the shelf. It's a pain for the public and a pain for the poor employee who has to explain it to sick people.

[SW FL Dem]

16. I googled it

It's the Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 1999. It limits purchases of products containing pseudoephedrine.

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/brochures/pseudo/pseudo_notice.htm

Many states have stiffer restrictions and most chain stores have voluntary policies that are tougher than federal law. One interesting thing I found was that the state of Washington's law exempts pediatric products.

[SW FL Dem]

14. It's going to get worse

Here is a link to an article on the subject. Also in November, there were hearings on Capital Hill asking for stricter limitations on the sale of pseudophedrine products.

http://www.dpna.org/resources/current/7-6-4.htm

[Squatch]

15. NyQuill will get you f'ed up

even at normal dosage. I'm a 240 pound guy who can feel the effect of 1 dose of the Q faster than by drinking alcohol.

Anyways, that's neither here nor there. Drugstores suck.

[Patiod]

17. Went through that stuff like crazy last month

Had a vicious sinus infection while on vacation in AZ, and must have bought 3 packs in a week - I was eating them like candy and going way over the daily limit.

My poor S.O. - pseudoephedrine makes me really mean, but it is the only thing that seemed to turn off the tap. It was either that or stabbing pain in the head + runny eyes and nose.

The one upside is that it does cut the appetite.