BRIDGETON, Mo. (AP) - Now that St. Charles County requires a prescription to purchase cold pills containing a key ingredient to methamphetamine, sales of the over-the-counter medications are soaring in three nearby St. Louis County towns.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch cites a statewide database showing that sales of products containing pseudoephedrine jumped by 81 percent last month in Bridgeton, 59 percent in Maryland Heights and 51 percent in Chesterfield.
The spikes came after St. Charles County began its prescription law on Aug. 30.
Franklin County narcotics detective Jason Grellner, a proponent of prescription laws, attributes the spike to meth-makers crossing the county line. But A spokesman for the Walgreens chain attributes the sales increase to law-abiding St. Charles County residents who don't want the hassle of getting a prescription.