Alabama to Track Online Sales of Pseudophedrine

Alabama will implement a state law January 2011 to keep track of pseudophedrine sales through an electronic database.

Attempting to curb the manufacture of methamphetamines, which The Drug Enforcement Agency called the number one drug threat in Alabama for the second year in a row, the state is now requiring all pseudophedrine purchases to be logged electronically. According to the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy, 11 states have implemented the online tracking system, according to the Alabama Dothan Eagle.

Jimmy Culbreath, commander of the Wiregrass Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force narcotics division, said online tracking will be a necessary tool in the task force’s effort to drive down meth production.

The tracking is also expected to reduce repeated purchases as people go from pharmacy to pharmacy in an attempt to collect enough pseudoephedrine to for methamphetamine manufacture.

“With the electronic aspect, we will be able to form more cases faster than we would by going through paper logs, and the electronic tracking also links us to other agencies so we can keep track of who specifically is buying no matter where they go. In our eyes it’s a beautiful thing,” he said. “Of course you will still have problems with people who formulate false IDs and things like that to get the drug, but the online tracking is definitely a move in the right direction.”