Reports: Fruth to sell tamper-resistant pseudoephedrine drug to combat meth

NEW YORK — Fruth Pharmacy is taking up a pseudoephedrine product for nasal congestion designed to deter the manufacturing of methamphetamine at all of its stores, according to published reports.

The West Virginia MetroNews Network reported that Fruth — which operates 25 stores in West Virginia and Ohio — would start selling Acura Pharmaceuticals' Nexafed at its stores.

Currently, Nexafed is available only in 30-mg pills, and Fruth will continue to sell Johnson & Johnson's Sudafed in other strengths until other strengths of Nexafed become available, and Sudafed will be phased out.

Nexafed, which Acura describes as a "next-generation" pseudoephedrine product, has tamper-resistant properties that disrupt the extraction of pseudophedrine from the pill and its conversion to methamphetamine. It will still have the same restrictions on purchasing as Sudafed and other pseudoephedrine products, according to MetroNews.

According to Charleston, W.Va., ABC affiliate WCHS, more than 300 meth labs have been uncovered in West Virginia so far this year, with more than one-third of them in Kanawha county alone.