If the State of Iowa gets a $750,000 federal grant, the state may create an electronic database to track the sale of one of the ingredients for an illegal drug.
Under current Iowa law, over-the-counter medications which contain "pseudoephedrine" must be behind the pharmacist’s counter. There are also limits on how much can be purchased at one time and those who buy the products are to sign a log book. But investigators say some meth-makers go from pharmacy to pharmacy, buying up huge quantities of over-the-counter medications in order to get enough to make a batch of meth.
A bill which won final legislative approval in the House Monday evening would require people to sign an "electronic logbook" to better track those kind of bulk purchases. The bill, however, requires pharmacies to continue to maintain that paper log books listing who’s buying the meds until that statewide electronic log book is on-line.