In nine months, a statewide tracking system has blocked more than 13,000 sales of over-the-counter medicines with ingredients used to make methamphetamine.

The Washington State Board of Pharmacy activated the new monitoring system, the National Precursor Log Exchange, on Oct. 15, 2011. The electronic system monitors the sale of three ingredients — pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine — which are in over-the-counter medicines for colds and allergies but are also used to make meth. State and federal laws limit the amount of medicine containing the ingredients a person can purchase.

Through July 2012, Washington’s system blocked the sale of 13,391 ingredients, which is equivalent to 37,172 grams, or 82 pounds, of ingredients.

“Our state was once called ‘the poster children for the meth epidemic,’ and we’re now recognized as a success story,” state Secretary of Health Mary Selecky said in a news release.

In 2010, the Washington Legislature passed a law tightening restrictions on the sales of products containing the methamphetamine precursors pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine. The law requires pharmacies to keep the products behind the counter or in a locked display case and maintain a sales record. Unlike Oregon, a prescription is not required to purchase the drugs.