Online logbook for pseudoephedrine kicks off at Searcy, Ark.

 

June 5, 2008

 

White County Sheriff Ricky Shourd has a message for methamphetamine makers.  "We're here and we're here to stay and as long as they're out there doing it. We're after them."

It's become easier to catch these criminals with LeadsOnlabs. It’s an online database which tracks who buys psuedoephedrine, where, and how much. Psuedoephdrine is a key ingredient in making meth. Now, all pharmacies selling these products are online.

"It's going to be important because now our investigators instead of having to go store to store to look at their list to see who's buying more pseudoephedrine then allowed by law, now we can look it up on our computer and look it up in our own office," says Sheriff Shourd.

 

"We know these people are going from community to community in Arkansas buying what they need and going home to run a meth lab. This is going to make it essentially impossible," says Attorney General Dustin McDaniel.

Here's how it works, when you buy a product, it's scanned along with your driver's license.  Then, your information is uploaded into the system.

"I've seen how an email will come across a drug agent's blackberry instantly if someone attempts to acquire too much of these drugs in order to run a meth lab."

 

McDaniel sees this as a step in the right direction to combat the meth problem in Arkansas, "We're not just going to reduce methamphetamines in Arkansas, we're going to eliminate it."

Law enforcement around the state is getting training on the system.  Since the legislature allocated funds for this program, it won't cost pharmacies a dime.

Legally you're only allowed to purchase 9 grams or 300 tablets of psuedoephedrine a month.  North Little Rock was the first city to use the LeadsOnlabs system.  In 2005, psuedoephedrine products were put behind the counter.  Since then, law enforcement has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of meth labs.

 

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