| Story Date: Thursday, October 11, 2007 New law to tighten net on ephedrine purchases Act 508 mandates maintenance of a “real-time electronic logbook” to track sales By Mary Kincy Benefield Reporter Act 508, a new state law that promises more extensive monitoring of purchases of ingredients used in methamphetamine production, may reach the Arkansas River Valley as early as May, Charlie Pruitt, director of the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC), said. The items monitored are those containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine, The law expands the reach of 2005’s Act 256, which required stores to record sales information of any products containing such ingredients into a written or electronic log. Act 508 requires the purchases to be entered into a centralized electronic logbook. Consumers are currently required to show photo identification before they are allowed to purchase products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine. Larry Johnson, director of the 5th Judicial District Drug Task Force, which oversees Pope, Johnson and Franklin counties, said such a system will benefit his agency’s efforts at shutting down methamphetamine production. “It would be a great asset to us to be able to access our information from our office or wherever,” he said, explaining that under the current system, task force agents must physically travel to individual pharmacies to examine purchase logs, making it difficult to readily determine whether a single individual’s pattern of purchases might indicate a potential for drug production. Pruitt said the law, which is contingent upon the availability of funding, requires the centralized electronic logbook be implemented by May 15, and said his office is currently accepting bids from private companies to coordinate the system. As the act is written, ACIC will not be allowed to charge pharmacies a fee to support the establishment or maintenance of the logbook, nor for any computer software required for implementation, although Pruitt said most larger pharmacies already have in place an electronic inventory tracking system that might be made to interface with the planned state system. The law provides for limited access to information contained in the logbook, which will be available only to persons authorized to prescribe or dispense products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine for the purposes of medical or pharmaceutical care; local, state and federal law enforcement officers and prosecutors; local, state and federal officials who request access for the purpose of initiating a necessary product recall; and the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy for the purpose of investigating a suspicious transaction. Transaction records will be maintained for up to two years, according to the law, with the exception of any information being used in an ongoing criminal investigation or proceeding. |