Assistant U.S. Attorney John Katko announced the arrest of seven people for buying too much pseudoephedrine and ephedrine. Under the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, a person is not allowed to buy over 9 grams of the over counter medicine that contains pseudoephedrine and ephedrine. The seven suspects were caught during a recent check of the log books that pharmacies must keep under the CMEA.
All seven were arraigned and released. Five of the seven are being charged with felonies because they had previous criminal records. There is an eighth suspect at large that police are still on the lookout for. The maximum penalty for buying too much of the medicine is two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Police say they do not believe the medicine was being used to manufacture meth, but they are still looking into it.
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