Schuette and Others Announce Campaign To Curb Meth Ingredient Purchases
The “Anti-Smurfing Campaign” is a partnership with pharmacies to display posters discouraging the practice.
Law enforcement and pharmacists are working together to curb methamphetamine production in the state.
It’s called the “Anti-Smurfing Campaign.”
Smurfing is the practice of buying cold and allergy medicine — like Sudafed — that contain meth ingredients, for meth cooks.
Some of Michigan’s top law enforcement members met Thursday to announce the launch. It’s a partnership with pharmacies to display posters discouraging the practice.
Attorney General Bill Schuette says they want to make sure people know they are committing a crime and there are consequences.
“The whole point it we want to alert folks that the meth epidemic is real,” he said.
One of the posters reads, “Buying meds to make meth? Police take Names…and make arrests.”
President of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan Mark Reene said, “The posters themselves, we think, are an outstanding idea and will help Michiganders be better educated on both the cost to themselves, as well as to the costs in the communities.”
The state currently uses a national log to track over-the-counter medicine sales to curb the methamphetamine problem in the state.
But Reene says there needs to be more education about the consequences.
“We see the role that smurfing plays in meth lab production and this campaign to educate consumers about the cost of smurfing is certainly a big step in the right direction,” he said.
