Smurfing doesn’t involve dressing up as cartoon characters. Or, maybe sometimes it does, but for the purposes of this guest post, smurfing is something different.

In the practice of smurfing, several people each buy the most cold and allergy medication pseudoephedrine that the law allows them to purchase at one time. They then combine these doses of pseudoephedrine to produce another drug, methamphetamine (meth).

Due to this illegal drug manufacturing, many U.S. states have databases to track the people who buy pseudoephedrine and record how much they buy. The state of Michigan, for example, started a database to track pseudoephedrine purchases. Michigan law only allows residents to purchase a certain amount of the drug in a twenty-four hour period or a month-long period.

Because of these limits, people who manufacture meth recruit others to buy small amounts of products containing pseudoephedrine. They might provide false identities when making these purchases, yet another illegal activity.

The state databases join a federal effort, the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 (CMEA). Different provisions of this law went into effect in 2006. It calls for limits on the sales of various drugs, including pseudoephedrine. This law places limits on the amount of certain drugs that people can buy and the amounts that online different retailers (including online retailers) can sell.

Such limits are sorely needed. The Detroit News has said that the state of Michigan has waged “a losing battle against methamphetamine use and production.” The same state ranked sixth in the United States “for the number of reported methamphetamine labs, equipment seizures and dump sites,” according to a 2014 MLive story.

These numbers have led to large numbers of people struggling with meth addiction in Michigan and throughout the United States. But, although addiction is difficult, it is treatable. Experienced professionals can help people with their dependencies on meth, other drugs, and alcohol.