W.Va. Retailers Association says new law is helping to curb sale of meth-making ingredients

Meth labs still make headlines, but the West Virginia Retailers Association says a new law cracking down on the sale of key ingredients appears to be a success.

President Bridget Lambert says data from the state Board of Pharmacy show a new real-time tracking system stopped the sale of nearly 10,000 boxes of pseudoephedrine.

West Virginia passed legislation last year requiring retailers to enter all cold-remedy sales in the National Precursor Log Exchange, a tracking system now used by at least 27 other states.

The law also set new limits on how much pseudoephedrine can be sold.

Lambert says the system balances the need to fight drug abuse with access for law-abiding citizens. She says it also reduces pressure on retailers by automatically blocking transactions at the point of sale.