An Iowa-based grocery chain made a move overnight to restrict the public’s access to more than a dozen over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines. Hy-Vee spokeswoman Ruth Mitchell explains what’s happened, effective this morning. Hy-Vee took 14 products, including Sudafed tablets, Dimetapp and Drixoral, and moved them behind pharmacy counters or to customer service areas. Customers will have to ask for them and sign a log book to document the purchase — and they’ll be limited to two packages per visit. Mitchell says they’re the products law enforcement officials tell them are most used in producing meth. The medications all contain pseudoephedrine, a common decongestant found in all sorts of sinus remedies, but it’s also a necessary ingredient in making methamphetamine, an illegal, highly-addictive and potentially-deadly drug. Mitchell says they regret if any customer feels this is an inconvenience or imposition, but she says the Governor’s office and law enforcement feel this is something that’s important, so they felt it was something they need to do to stem the production of methamphetamine. The Des Moines-based chain has 219 stores in seven states.
