Computer System Used to Fight Meth

[douglas9]

Source: Associated Press

LONDON, Ky. (AP) -- Detective Brian Lewis returns to his desk after lunch, scanning e-mails he missed.

One catches his eye: It says a suspected member of a methamphetamine ring bought a box of Sudafed at 1:34 p.m. at a CVS pharmacy.

........

Lewis did not find her that day, but the scenario illustrates the way law enforcement is increasingly relying on computerized tracking systems in their fight against meth, an illegal drug that is often brewed in makeshift labs and has become a particular scourge in Appalachia and the Midwest.

Tracking systems are gradually being installed in pharmacies nationwide in response to a federal law that, since March 2006, has regulated purchases of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the manufacture of meth. Pseudoephedrine is found in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines, such as Sudafed.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TRACKING_METH?SITE=PAYOK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[hobbit709]

1. Oh cute

You have a major case of allergies, buy a box of Sudafed, your name happens to be on the "no-fly list" and now you are a speed cooker. If I was cooking up a batch of whatever, I'd want more than one 12-pack box of ingredients.

[Phrogman]

2. More intrusive snooping by Uncle Scam, using the other "war" to justify it...

the "drug war"....

another fabricated war that they're losing.

Want to stop the meth labs? Outlaw ephedrine sales by the big pharmaceuticals. That'll put a big dent in it.

[douglas9]

3. FYI

Wonder if there is a library version of this software.....

http://www.appriss.com/MethCheckRX.html

[LiberalFighter]

4. And families or others that stockpile for legitimate purposes?

Consumer privacy watchdogs are troubled by the technology, worrying that people with colds or allergies could come under suspicion for unwittingly exceeding the purchasing limits by stocking up for themselves or family members. That has happened to at least eight people in Kentucky, according to Lewis.

"People's health information - it's intimate, it's personal, it's something people desperately want to keep private," said Beth Wilson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Kentucky. "For law enforcement to do an investigation, there must be a reasonable suspicion. I'm not sure just the amount of medication justifies that."

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. Like us...

It hasn't happened yet, but between my son and his dad, they go through lots of the stuff, spring through fall. :(

[DBoon]

6. and just think how easy it will be to track political dissenters

You can use the same system to track terrorist groups like the Quakers!

Just think what J. Edgar Hoover would have done with a system like this.

[Socal31]

7. Disgusting....

we are ending up more and more like our friends across the pond.....