WASHINGTON — Kansas plans to become the fifth state to implement the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx), an electronic tracking system to prevent the illegal purchase of medications containing pseudoephedrine, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.

CHPA said the Kansas Board of Pharmacy announced its selection of NPLEx last week. Developed and operated by Louisville, Ky.-based technology provider Appriss Inc., the real-time system is designed to help retailers and pharmacists in Kansas enforce purchase limits and block illegal sales statewide of medicines with pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in methamphetamine, a rising drug abuse problem. 

Missouri earlier this month became the fourth state to adopt NPLEx, joining Kentucky, Illinois and Louisiana. Other states are expected to join in the near term, and 11 states have active legislation that would connect them to the Kentucky-based system, Appriss reported in early March.

"We are delighted that Kansas has joined a growing number of states, including Missouri, that are adopting NPLEx as their e-tracking program," CHPA president Linda Suydam said in a statement. "E-tracking stops criminals without putting additional burdens on consumers. The NPLEx system offers an effective solution for stopping illegal pseudoephedrine sales and helping law enforcement identify meth cooks."

CHPA noted that besides enforcing purchase quantity limits, the Kansas NPLEx system can be linked with those in the other four states to stop criminals from evading quantity limits by crossing state lines. The association said sheriffs in Kentucky report that e-tracking leads to 70% to 100% of meth lab busts, and in a Florida pilot project e-tracking reduced illegal sales by over 90%.

NPLEx is funded by manufacturers of over-the-counter medicines containing pseudoephedrine, and it’s administered by the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.