Some customers of Clinic Pharmacy in Prineville have been stocking up on Sudafed and Claritin-D while they can still get the allergy and cold medications over the counter.

”People are concerned because they aren’t going to be able to get their Claritin-D come July 1 without a prescription,” said DeeAnna Cook, manager of the pharmacy. ”Now they will have to spend the extra money to go to the doctor for something they have been taking.”

A state law that passed last summer making all products containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine available by prescription only goes into effect July 1.

The idea behind the legislation is to better control pseudoephedrine – a main ingredient in methamphetamine production. Oregon was the first state in the nation to make pseudoephedrine a prescription-only product.

Gary Schnabel, executive director of the Oregon Board of Pharmacy, said the law’s administrative rules were finalized and filed late last week.

”Pharmacies have to treat this as a controlled substance,” he said. ”They have to keep an inventory and reconcile that inventory annually.”

For the past year, Oregon pharmacies have been required by state law to ask for identification of customers buying pseudoephedrine products and to keep a log of those names.

That legislation began on a voluntary basis in October 2004 and has already led to a dramatic decrease in the number of local methamphetamine labs, said Capt. Tim Edwards with the Des-chutes County Sheriff’s Office.

In 2003, the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement team seized 22 meth labs in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties, Edwards said. In 2004, five labs were seized and last year, only one lab was busted by the team.

”We’ve seen a huge decrease as a result of that legislation,” he said. ”We expect it to decrease even further as a result of the new legislation.”

Methamphetamine use is still a problem in Oregon, Edwards said, as the drug is often imported from California and Mexico. But a reduction in meth labs also means a reduction in the environmental and health hazards associated with them.

”The reason this law was put in place is that the problems associated with the home meth labs are very serious,” said Bruce Abernethy, of the Meth Action Coalition, a Central Oregon advocacy group. ”I haven’t heard any people complaining.”

But not everyone agrees the law was the best way to deal with the meth problem.

Dr. David Coutin, a Bend allergist who opposed the legislation, said the law may cause a hassle for patients with cold and allergy symptoms.

Doctors, he said, are unlikely to prescribe any medication without first examining a patient, which could lead to higher health care costs.

”Pseudoephedrine is still going to be available by prescription,” Coutin said. ”I understand its cost has gone up dramatically, and I don’t know if insurance is going to cover it.”

Most pharmacies have a minimum prescription price to cover the paperwork and other costs associated with selling the medication, said Ann Maroney, a pharmacy technician at ShopKo in Bend.

”We’re trying to tell people that this will be a prescription soon,” Maroney said. ”We have not had too many complaints yet, but I betcha after July 1 we will.”

It’s important for patients to know that alternatives to pseudoephedrine products are available, Coutin said.

He explained that for patients having allergy symptoms more than twice a week, an anti-inflammatory nasal spray might be useful. He also said that drug manufacturers have begun marketing products like Sudafed PE that contain phenylephrine, which remains an over the counter item, instead of pseudoephedrine.

”Phenylephrine is almost as effective as pseudoephedrine, but has a slightly increased risk of raising blood pressure,” Coutin said. ”There are not a lot of studies in its use in children under the age of 12.”

At Home Town Drugs in Madras, pharmacist and owner Jeanne Mendazona said in her experience phenylephrine does not work as well as pseudoephedrine. She said she’s not sure how many of her customers realize that in just a few weeks they will need a prescription for some of their favorite products.

”Some people are concerned that doctors are going to make them come in for an appointment every time they have a cold,” Mendazona said. ”I think most doctors are not going to want to be overwhelmed by people who have the sniffles. But it depends on the prescriber, I suppose.”

In Prineville, pharmacy manager Cook said the real impact of the law will not be felt until haying season hits local farmers.

”If they are out haying or whatever, they just need something because they are all congested,” Cook said. ”It is going to be sad because they can’t just stop and grab a box and be on their way.”

About the law

What the new law means:

For patients – it means common cold and allergy medications like Sudafed and Claritin-D will be available only by pre-scription. Alternative medications not containing pseudo-ephedrine will still be available over the counter.

For pharmacists – it means more stringent record-keeping of drugs containing pseudo-ephedrine, but it also means no longer keeping a log of patients who buy certain cold medications.