EUREKA, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com)—
Eureka is now the first city in St. Louis County to toughen laws against pseudoephedrine. Starting Wednesday a prescription is needed to buy the decongestant. Mayor Kevin Coffey said meth labs and the discovery of meth making material in Eureka is on the rise."We had one across from City Hall and one on Fifth Street. We expect it will get into other areas just like it was pushed into ours."
But now the city of Eureka is pushing back.
"Over the last six months it became evident. We had meth labs pop up in several places which had been rare in our city limits," said Mayor Coffey.
Tuesday night Eureka city council unanimously approved a move to restrict access to pseudoephedrine. Eureka's four pharmacy's will now require a prescription to buy medications like Sudafed.
"Due to the gravity of the situation as much as they hated to they felt they had to pass it," said Mayor Coffey.
Mayor Coffey says the city noticed disturbing trends after Jefferson and Franklin counties restricted access to pseudoephedrine.
"The police chief did a study of products that were sold at Wal-mart," said Coffey.
Chief Michael Weigand found accused meth makers from the neighboring counties are traveling to Eureka to buy the drug.
"They checked the names that registered to buy the products and 13 of the 17 names had popped up in meth investigations," said Coffey.
Pseudoephedrine has been kept behind pharmacy counters and consumers have to fill out a log. But Mayor Coffey says the tracking system was still putting meth making materials in the wrong hands.
"A person could buy several boxes in one day legally because it is that hard to track. We feel in getting it out of our community it will go to a different community," said Coffey.
Or maybe Eureka's new law will send a signal to the rest of the state.
"Perhaps we are the lynchpin in a state wide effort," said Coffey.
Schnucks issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying they understand and support efforts to ensure public safety.
"Schnucks regrets the inconvenience to customers but as a responsible retailer, they will comply with the law."
