CHPA Applauds Virginia's Adoption of Real-Time, Stop-Sale Technology, An Effective Tool in the Fight Against Methamphetamine

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Consumer Healthcare Products Association

Mar 09, 2012, 02:15 ET

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) today applauded the Commonwealth of Virginia for becoming the 18th state to adopt real-time, stop-sale technology called the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) which allows pharmacists to block illegal pseudoephedrine purchases right at the point of sale and provides law enforcement with valuable criminal data up to the minute. The legislation, sponsored by Senator L. Louise Lucas (D- District 18) and Sen. Richard H. Stuart (R- District 28), was passed by the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates and signed by Governor Bob McDonnell on Thursday, March 8.

NPLEx is a proven tool in the fight against methamphetamine production that has blocked tens of thousands of illegal sales across the country. The system targets meth criminals while protecting law-abiding consumers' access to safe and effective medicines containing pseudoephedrine (PSE), such as Advil Cold & Sinus, Allegra-D, Claritin-D, Mucinex D, and Sudafed. NPLEx provides a secure, interconnected electronic logbook that tracks and logs every PSE sale in every store at the precise moment it is happening. When a purchase is made, the logbook advises retailers when to refuse a sale based on an individual's purchase record elsewhere in the state and beyond its borders. The system also provides law enforcement officials with a new and effective tool in the fight against meth, and it is the only system that can block the illegal sale in real-time and across state lines.

"We applaud Gov. McDonnell, Senators Lucas and Stuart, the Virginia legislature, and Virginia law enforcement for implementing a proven solution that will fight domestic meth production while maintaining consumer access to widely used cold and allergy medicines," said Scott M. Melville, president and chief executive officer of CHPA. "Virginia joins a growing number of states that have implemented this system aimed at helping law enforcement effectively address meth production. Not only will real-time, stop-sale technology prevent meth crimes before they happen, it will also protect the rights of responsible Virginia families who depend on these medicines for relief."

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SOURCE Consumer Healthcare Products Association