Smurfing Leads to New Laws | Iowa Waits for Money

Grant money not yet in use

Pseudoephedrine

Obama signed a $750,000 grant into the 2009 budget to help fight meth, and Iowa plans to use the money to prevent smurfing. Smurfing means buying pseudophedrine at multiple pharmacies to skirt the laws that limit the amount one person can purchase.

Iowa and several other states plan to implement an electronic tracking system to stop smurfing, which people do in order to be able to make methamphetamine. Now they just need the money.

Smurfing made easy by old system

Pharmacies currently do track the amount of pseudophedrine sold and who buys it. However, the pharmacists in Iowa have been using paper ledgers and writing down the information by hand. This method only ensures that people don’t exceed the monthly limit in purchases at one location.

Drug makers could get small short-term loans, purchase pseudophedrine at several pharmacies, and turn that money into a big profit by selling meth.

New system on the way

The new electronic tracking system will allow pharmacies to easily track how much product one person is buying at every pharmacy in the state. However, instead of not allowing the pharmacy to make an illegal sale, police will be notified after an illegal sale is made.

Tracking trend

Five other states already have systems similar to the one Iowa is planning to install and others are planning to do the same. Statistics show that meth-related arrests fell sharply after the law limiting the sale of pseudophedrine was passed. Police believe the new system in Iowa will get more drug dealers off the streets. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Smurfing Leads to New Laws | Iowa Waits for Money"