Cold sufferers will soon need ID to get relief

KATU 2 | October 4 2004

SALEM, Ore. - Catching a cold is about to get much more complicated.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski issued an order Friday that will require people buying over-the-counter cold medicines in Oregon to show identification and leave personal information at the register.

The new rules go into effect Oct. 13, and are designed to slow the state's methamphetamine problem. Cold remedies such as Sudafed contain the main ingredients in the manufacture of the powerfully addictive and cheap street drug.

"Meth labs exist in Oregon homes, hotels, motels, apartments and even in automobiles," Kulongoski said. "They're just as likely to be found in rural communities as they are in big cities."

Kulongoski's Methamphetamine Task Force recommended the emergency rules, which will be in place for 180 days as the governor works with the Legislature to make them permanent.

Methamphetamine fuels 85 percent of the state's property and identity-theft crimes, and is the leading reason Oregon children are removed from their homes and placed in long-term foster care, the governor said.

Oregon treats more people for meth addiction per capita than any other state in the country.

The new guidelines are modeled after an Oklahoma law credited for a steep drop in illegal meth labs in that state. Purchasers must go to a store's pharmacy counter or front register and show identification.

"Vendors will be required to keep a record of every purchase," Kulongoski said. Officials will be on the watch for people making multiple purchases in a short time."

Details of how names and other personal information will be gathered and used won't be worked out until the Oregon Board of Pharmacy meets next week to adopt the new rules.

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