Two Cape pharmacies still among highest in Mo. for pseudoephedrine sales

Two of Cape Girardeau's largest pharmacies -- Walgreens and Walmart -- continue to lead Missouri in pseudoephedrine sales, although the number of boxes sold dropped at the stores in December, according to the statewide database that tracks purchases of the cold and sinus medication.

Walgreens, a store that led sales in Missouri in October and November with more than 2,200 each month, now ranks sixth in box purchases with 1,423 boxes sold last month.

Walmart still ranks No. 2 for boxes of pseudoephedrine -- the key component in cooking methamphetamine -- sold with 1,725 sold in December, 944 fewer than November.

The two stores were selling more than the two Walmart stores in Joplin, Mo., a city of more than 30,000, when the database first began to track their sales, Grellner said. A Walmart pharmacy in Desloge, Mo., was No. 1 for box sales in December.

Jason Grellner, vice president of the Missouri Narcotics Association, attributes the drop in boxes sold to an ordinance passed in Cape Girardeau on Dec. 6, banning the sale of the medication without a prescription.

And although the ordinance, which went into effect Dec. 17, was only in place for 14 days, Grellner said the numbers still illustrate how many sales were made for illegal purposes.

"When stores in a town of that many are beating sales in other parts of the state in larger communities, it's quite obvious those sales are being diverted," Grellner said. "The longer the ordinance is in effect, the larger the drop will become."

Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force supervisor Kevin Glaser said he's interested in seeing database figures for January, February and 90 days after Cape Girardeau's ordinance went into effect.

"It's just a bit early right now to make a significant impact," Glaser said.

Grellner, citing data from when Washington, Mo., passed a similar ordinance, expects the Cape Girardeau pharmacies to see a 90 percent drop in sales within three months.

Authorities maintain that most of the decrease seen is from a drop in sales for illicit purposes, not from the loss of legitimate users who decided the hassle of getting a prescription was too much.

Similar to what happened in Cape Girardeau in 2010 -- a spike in pseudoephedrine sales because of Southeast Missouri like Sikeston and Dexter passing their own ordinance -- the task force expects manufacturers to travel to Perryville, Mo., for the precursor. Jackson and Scott City have also passed their own regulations requiring a prescription to purchase products containing the drug.

"I have talked to some officers in Perry County, and they are seeing a lot of people from outside the area coming in to purchase the cold medication," Glaser said. "It's what we expected."

Reporter's calls to a manager at Walmart's pharmacy and a communications director at Walgreens headquarters were not returned Tuesday.

Because pseudoephedrine sales with a prescription are entered into a different system Glaser said the task force will begin to regularly check Walgreens and Walmart's internal monitoring databases. The pharmaceutical monitoring program collects information on prescription medications sold.

ehevern@semissourian.com

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