Target Moves Sale of Cold Medications to Pharmacy

Target Corp., the nation’s second-largest discount retailer, said Monday that it would begin selling a wide range of nonprescription cold and allergy medications only from behind the pharmacy counter because they contain a key ingredient used in making methamphetamine.

Medications containing the decongestant pseudoephedrine, known as PSE, include NyQuil, Claritin-D, Sudafed, Tylenol Flu and more than a hundred other products used to treat cold, allergy and sinus symptoms. Target said it was the first national retailer to voluntarily restrict sales of such drugs to the pharmacy counter.

Target said it would stop sales of the medications altogether at stores that don’t have a pharmacy. More than 300 of the retailer’s 1,330 stores -- including almost one-third of its 195 California stores -- lack pharmacies.

The Minneapolis-based retailer said it was taking the step because it would “help curb the growing production and distribution of meth.”

Target also said it had become increasingly difficult for national retailers to adhere to the patchwork of state and local restrictions on access to drugs used in the production of methamphetamine, an illegal and highly addictive stimulant that can be processed from PSE extracted from over-the-counter medications.

“We do anticipate that this might impact the sales of products containing pseudoephedrine,” Target spokeswoman Lena Michaud said. “But we believe that, on balance, it’s the right decision to make.”

It’s not clear yet whether Target’s action will prompt other retailers, including drug and grocery store chains, to follow suit. Some, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Walgreen Co., said Monday that they had no plans to alter their policies as a result of Target’s move.

“We’re still evaluating and looking for the best alternatives for our customers,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jacquie Young said.

It is “a huge business decision” for a retailer because products containing pseudoephedrine account for 80% to 90% of all cough and cold medicines, said Mary Ann Wagner, vice president of pharmacy regulatory affairs for the National Assn. of Chain Drug Stores.

“When you take that much product off a shelf and put it behind the [pharmacy] counter, you’re talking about a very monumental change,” she said. Many of the drugs are heavily relied upon by people who struggle with allergies, she said, “and we’ve got hay fever season coming up, so it’s definitely going to affect consumer access.”

It’s not clear how much of an effect Target’s decision will have on the production of methamphetamine, which can be made in a bathtub from one of more than 100 recipes. As much as 80% of the methamphetamine in the U.S. comes from organized crime rings producing huge quantities in California or in Mexico.

The controls on PSE sales are aimed at meth brewed in small makeshift labs, usually located in rural areas. Many are located in the Midwest, although remote parts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties have been popular locations as well.

Riverside County Dist. Atty. Grover Trask applauded Target’s move, saying that placing medications with PSE behind the pharmacy counter will make it easier for pharmacists to monitor who is buying the drugs and discourage meth manufacturers from purchasing them.

“If you keep on seeing the same kind of disheveled figure shaking while buying [enough] cold tablets for the next 20 seasons, that kind of sets off a light ... for the pharmacist, and he would be calling law enforcement,” Trask said.

Oklahoma’s decision last year to classify pseudoephedrine as a Schedule 5 narcotic that can only be dispensed by a pharmacist resulted in a substantial drop in the number of meth labs, said Ken Smith, a deputy district attorney in San Bernardino County.

In California, state law allows stores to sell no more than three packages (or nine grams) of medications containing PSE per customer, per visit. Target’s limit is two packages, a policy that will stay in effect, the company said.

A bill pending in Congress would restrict sales to pharmacy counters and also would require customers to sign for the drug and show a photo ID.

With more lawmakers considering restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine, drug makers are looking at alternative ingredients to alleviate stuffy and runny noses. This year, Pfizer Inc., the maker of Sudafed, rolled out Sudafed PE, which uses phenylephrine as the main ingredient. Phenylephrine cannot be used to make methamphetamine. Carson-based Leiner Health Products Inc., which makes a generic version of Sudafed, will have a phenylephrine alternative ready by June.

Under Target’s new policy -- which will go into effect in two to three months -- consumers will have to ask the person behind the pharmacy counter for medications with PSE. Target says it will put tags on store shelves, allowing customers to compare products before they go to the pharmacy counter, spokeswoman Michaud said.

The news didn’t please Cathy Heaslip, 32, who complained about her allergies while walking out of a Target in Eagle Rock on Monday.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” the Glendale resident said. “I’m just going to get an allergy medicine, not a drug. And if the pharmacy is closed, what can you do?” She said it probably would force her to buy the medicine for a higher price at a supermarket.

But Elizabeth Dorosin said that if it was a matter of public safety, then Target’s move was appropriate, even if it would cause inconvenience.

“It’s too bad,” said Dorosin, a writer who lives in Silver Lake, who sometimes buys a Tylenol product for her allergies, “but I think it’s the right thing to do.”