It is a sad commentary that city staff needs to begin drafting an ordinance that would take ephedrine products, such as Sudafed, off shelves and put behind counters in businesses in Albert Lea.

We understand it must be done. It is important to put up any barrier that can be put up to make it more difficult for people who are using and making methamphetamine. Ephedrine is a key ingredient in meth.

But it is too bad that people who use the product for legitimate reasons, like relief from colds and allergies, need to be inconvenienced because others are misusing the product.

It used to be that when a person wasn’t feeling well, he or she could go into a store, quickly pull a box off a shelf and purchase it.

Now the agony of having to go into a store when you’re not feeling well to begin with must be prolonged by waiting in a line so someone else can get the product for you from behind a counter.

What will be next?

We do need to stop meth in its tracks, and if an ordinance like this helps, so be it. But it is still a very sad commentary on what we’re coming to.