I spend a lot of time in Walgreens.  You might even say I pretty much              live there.  So I'm highly attuned to even the slightest changes at the stores.

Lately, I've noticed a disturbing new trend.  Some stores are locking up certain merchandise behind glass (or rather, Plexiglass).  If you wish to purchase an item, you must find a sales clerk (easier said than done), and have that person unlock the case to give you access to said item.  It's annoying, to say the least. 

At first, the only items that were being guarded in this fashion were disposable razors.  I had to ponder the reasoning behind this; had 6-packs of plastic Bic razors become a new favorite among shoplifters?  I suppose there was some logic at work here.  After all, shoplifters care about personal grooming, too, and those fancy Gillette Mach 3 Turbo razors really are a bit pricey. 

Or was it something even more sinister?  Perhaps knives have become too expensive, and pink plastic Silky Touch Bic razors are being wielded as the modern criminal's weapon of choice.

 It was all a bit odd, but I was willing to give Walgreens the benefit of the doubt.  I figured drugstore crime must be worse than I thought.

But it didn't stop there.  Next, I noticed that selected skincare products were also now under lock and key.  These tended to be the higher priced items - usually in the $15-20 range.  Apparently, thieves suffering from dry skin, under eye bags or crow's feet don't waste time with  Pond's Cold  Creme or Noxema. They're after the hard stuff; L'Oreal Skin Genesis with Pro-Retinol A is a favorite, as is the popular Olay Regenerist line.  I picture a team of shoplifters scoping out the joint; "Hey, I'll grab the Olay Age-Defying Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream and when no one's looking, you go for the Regenerating Serum...it's proven to visibly minimize pores."  

Great.  So now my Firming Serum is also under lock and key.  Maybe it's for the best – the stuff's getting too expensive anyway (as an unintended consequence of their overzealous efforts to deter criminals, Walgreens is probably losing a lot of legitimate sales).

What's next?  Is Walgreens going to lock up every item in the store?  Is my favorite pharmacy turning into a veritable Fort Knox? 

Just about.  This week, to my horror, I discovered an entire shelf of stomach remedies and antacids had joined the forbidden items.  What?  Is there a black market in Maalox?  Are there huge stockpiles of Mylanta and Maximum Strength Zantac stashed away in dingy warehouses around the city?                 Are corner drug dealers now trafficking in Pepto Bismol? ("Pssst...over here...I've got some really good stuff this week...you know, the pink stuff...it soothes and coats...").

I know shoplifting is a legitimate problem.  But this is getting ridiculous.          On the few occasions when I've asked a hapless Walgreens clerk to please unlock the case so I could buy something, I quickly regretted it.  Inevitably, the key to the case is nowhere to be found, so the clerk must wander off in search of it – a quest that can take upwards of 15 minutes...if you're lucky.  Sorry, but I don't have the time or patience to wait that long to buy a box of Pepcid AC.  Maybe next time, I'll bypass Walgreens and just buy it from that suspicious looking character on the corner.

Late breaking update:

So...I've just been to Walgreens and it seems the lockdown situation has become even more extreme.  I needed to buy a bottle of shampoo.                   But when I arrived in the shampoo aisle, I discovered that almost every shelf was now covered with a thick Plexiglass shield.  I quickly scanned the forbidden items:  Nexus...Garnier...Redken...Herbal Essences...all under lock and key.  The only exceptions were Pert Plus and Head & Shoulders. 

I have to hand it to these shoplifters; they really know their hair care products.