Target joins Fred Meyer stores restricting access to meth precursors

OLYMPIA -- Today's announcement by Target Corp. that they will place behind the pharmacy counters those cold and allergy medications that are precursor drugs for the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine was hailed today by two legislators who are leading the fight against methamphetamine.

Target operates 1,330 stores in 47 states. They announced that those Target stores that don't have pharmacies won't sell the products.

Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Roy) and Rep. Dawn Morrell (D-Puyallup) are leading the fight in Washington to require those over-the-counter drugs that make up the ingredients used in the manufacture of methamphetamine to be locked behind the counter.

Two weeks ago, Fred Meyer stores announced their plan to make the cold medications that contain ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine be kept in locations that are not accessible to customers without the assistance of a clerk.

House Bill 2266, sponsored by Campbell and Morrell, requires those cold remedies that have the precursor drugs be behind the counter and available only by a clerk, as well as a photo Id to prove age 18 or older. In addition, purchasers would be required to sign a log for law enforcement to track those purchasing the drugs for illegal purposes.

“I really commend Target and Fred Meyer for taking these important steps to ebb the tide of over-the-counter drugs that are contributing greatly to the epidemic of meth, in addition and the horrible impact of meth labs sprouting up in our communities,” Campbell said. We ask other retailers to follow their lead.”

In Target’s announcement, they said they intend to only sell the cold and allergy medications that contain pseudoephedrine from behind the pharmacy counter. Morrell hailed their decision and encouraged other stores to follow the lead of Target and Fred Meyer.

“This is a very important step in our effort to prevent meth manufactures from obtaining the precursor drugs in mass purchases and undetected,” she said. “We need to protect society from those who prey on our communities.”

The House bill (#2266) passed the House 79-17. The Senate passed a weakened version of the bill that both Campbell and Morrell said was unacceptable. The disagreement on bill is likely to be resolved this week in a House-Senate conference committee.

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