The program is operated by the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI), funded by manufacturers of pseudoephedrine medicine, and technology provided through contract by Apriss Inc.[1] As of January 2014, 29 states have passed NPLEx-related legislation,[2] and it is implemented in most other states on a voluntary basis by national retail chains.
Whenever an individual purchases a precursor medicine from a participating retailer, identifying information is gathered at the point of sale and submitted to NPLEx.
[1] Multiple law enforcement agencies have reported that the system is not effective at stopping meth production.
[3][4][5][6] The system is vulnerable to "smurfing", a practice where multiple individuals work together by each buying a legal quantity of precursors and pooling them.
[4] The blurring of the responsibilities of government and private business has been called into question,[7] as well as privacy concerns arising from the accuracy and retention of records.