The morning-after pill is on pharmacy shelves in East Lansing, and for the first time, it can be purchased without a doctor's prescription.

Nearly three months after the Food and Drug Administration's decision to approve the pill for over-the-counter sales, students have begun buying it at Olin Health Center.

Plan B, a form of emergency contraception, reduces the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent if it's taken within three days after unprotected sex, health officials say.

The pill has no effect if a woman is already pregnant.

Olin Health Center pharmacist Tom Ball said he has already sold a few of the $30 pills since their debut Nov. 20.

He declined to say exactly how many Olin Health Center has sold.

Pharmacies in Meijer and CVS also stocked their shelves with the Plan B pill this month.

CVS Pharmacy, one of the biggest Plan B distributors, sells the morning-after pill for $44.99, said spokesman Mike DeAngelis.

On Monday, Planned Parenthood Mid-Michigan Alliance also will begin carrying Plan B for $32.

It will be free Dec. 6 at the two Planned Parenthood locations in Lansing and East Lansing, said Melissa Nicols, vice president for medical affairs.

To buy the morning-after pill over the counter, people must show a government-issued ID.

"If they're less than 18, it still has to come from a prescription from a doctor," Ball said.

He said the pill being sold over the counter is the same one available for purchase with a doctor's prescription.

"There's no difference," Ball said. "It's not a different product."

Gabrielle Russon can be reached at russonga@msu.edu.