Over on the RevGalPals blog, there is a comment thread on the relatively new laws restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine -- a common ingredient in over-the-counter sinus and cold medications. Last week I had to get some Sudafed for clogged sinuses and found myself at the pharmacy counter turning over my driver's license and then having to sign for one package of pills. The pharmacy staff was very apologetic and unhappy about having to do this. They told me that many people didn't purchase when faced with these requirements, because they are wary of identity theft and not comfortable with being treated like a criminal when trying to buy something that just a few months ago they could pick up off an open shelf and pay for without further ado.
It got me thinking about the old adage learned in law school: hard facts made bad law. The hard fact here is that drug dealers have been manufacturing crystal meth using over-the-counter cold medications containing pseudoephedrine. The use of crystal meth is very dangerous and was becoming a problem in many states. In our American tradition of trying to legislate away all problems in society, many states passed laws that restrict the sale of these products.
Sounds like a good idea? Well, it certainly has made the purchase of over-the-counter decongestants difficult. And presumably for those who want to purchase them in order to make illegal drugs. It's not likely to do anything more than create a brief lull in the manufacture of meth because a substitute for that ingredient will be found and when it is, manufacturing and distribution will resume. Alas, the entreprenurial urge is not limited to those who direct it to lawful, community-benefiting purposes. Making it difficult to manufacture will not reduce the demand for it, either, by those who were buying it. It just makes it more expensive.
So the legislatures respond by getting out a cannon to shoot a canary. The predictable result is that the drug manufacturers have developed new products using a substitute for ephedrine that is not regulated. I asked the pharmacist if the new decongestants worked as well as the old ones. He said that everyone is different, and they would probably work for some people and not for others. So the law-abiding public finds it more difficult to purchase a medically safe and effective drug (when used for the purpose for which it is intended).
Boxes and boxes of these pills are needed to manufacture even a small amount of crystal meth. So why not use common sense? Educate the staff at the drugstore about the issue. If someone comes in and cleans the shelves of Sudafed or Claritin-D, get their ID when they pay --or go out and get their license plate number as they leave and report the sale to the police. Let their drug task force sort it out. Give more money to the local police and constables so they can investigate and arrest those involved instead of trying to turn pharmacy and drugstore staff into crime prevention personnel.
Here in Houston it's a very lucky person who doesn't suffer from allergies and clogged sinuses at least part of the year. On behalf of all the good citizens who are dismayed by this--let my Sudafed go! Hard facts do make bad law.
It got me thinking about the old adage learned in law school: hard facts made bad law. The hard fact here is that drug dealers have been manufacturing crystal meth using over-the-counter cold medications containing pseudoephedrine. The use of crystal meth is very dangerous and was becoming a problem in many states. In our American tradition of trying to legislate away all problems in society, many states passed laws that restrict the sale of these products.
Sounds like a good idea? Well, it certainly has made the purchase of over-the-counter decongestants difficult. And presumably for those who want to purchase them in order to make illegal drugs. It's not likely to do anything more than create a brief lull in the manufacture of meth because a substitute for that ingredient will be found and when it is, manufacturing and distribution will resume. Alas, the entreprenurial urge is not limited to those who direct it to lawful, community-benefiting purposes. Making it difficult to manufacture will not reduce the demand for it, either, by those who were buying it. It just makes it more expensive.
So the legislatures respond by getting out a cannon to shoot a canary. The predictable result is that the drug manufacturers have developed new products using a substitute for ephedrine that is not regulated. I asked the pharmacist if the new decongestants worked as well as the old ones. He said that everyone is different, and they would probably work for some people and not for others. So the law-abiding public finds it more difficult to purchase a medically safe and effective drug (when used for the purpose for which it is intended).
Boxes and boxes of these pills are needed to manufacture even a small amount of crystal meth. So why not use common sense? Educate the staff at the drugstore about the issue. If someone comes in and cleans the shelves of Sudafed or Claritin-D, get their ID when they pay --or go out and get their license plate number as they leave and report the sale to the police. Let their drug task force sort it out. Give more money to the local police and constables so they can investigate and arrest those involved instead of trying to turn pharmacy and drugstore staff into crime prevention personnel.
Here in Houston it's a very lucky person who doesn't suffer from allergies and clogged sinuses at least part of the year. On behalf of all the good citizens who are dismayed by this--let my Sudafed go! Hard facts do make bad law.
9 comments:
Amen, sister!
My happiness at discovering that the clogged head caused by a permanently damaged eustachian tube could be relieved with an OTC medication turned quickly to dismay when these laws were passed. Although we have no such law in Maine, chain stores that are based in other states have implemented similar policies here.
And my sister-in-law in Virginia told me I was taking an addictive drug, because she had confused it with meth. (Yes, honey, I'm taking meth for my ear problems. You just keep thinking things through.)
Our neighborhood drugs store cleared their shelves of these medications and left pictures of the boxes in place. If you want to buy sudafed, you go through the CIA to get it.
Cannon-ing the Canary is so silly.
Sniff, sniff. I have a head cold from my trip........
This thing really honks me off! Take it from someone with my job....they are still making and using meth at an alarming rate! But it takes an act of congress to get my one box of sudafed...and I not dare ask for 2 cause I am afraid of what will happen.
Agghhhh!!! I hear you (when my head isn't stuffed up with sinus problems, too)! And the new "stuff" that is available OTC doesn't work for me like my old standby Sudafed. And I feel like such a bother to the pharmacy staff if I ask to compare one box to another box of the stash behind the counter. As a frustrated former chemist, I can assure you "they" will be finding a way around the Sudafed limit... correction, they probably have already.
I'm so glad to have the Princess (who is in law enforcement) and j,too (a chemist) confirm my belief that the bad guys will quickly find a way to keep making meth while the good guys get no relief for their sinus pains. Thanks, y'all.
You reminded me of a guy in my last drug offender class. He just got out of prison for "cooking" meth. He told us every time he goes to Wal-Mart he amuses himself by wandering the isles and counting the number of ingredients and substitutes he finds that don't have any kind of regulation.
*sniff*
Like an old junkie, I finally rooted through my travelling toiletries bag and found some very outdated, fuzz covered cold pills still in their blister packs. I only took one and am hording the last two with the thought that this is only November after all.
The new sustitute doesn't work... but thankfully our small town pharmacist keeps the good stuff behind the counter and all I have to do is sign for it.
I last bought my monthly allotment of the Walmart brand of sudafed plus acetaminophen which works great to clear the clogged sinus headache by providing my license and getting registered on the national drug user database. When I ran out, I went to Sam's. I was informed that Sam's was out of the sudafed registry business and that I had to go to Walmart. Now, Walmart's product that I used is now out in the aisles, but it contains Phenylephrine HCl instead of sudafed. I bought it and it seems to work okay, but I can't find any info on this substitute. Another good product gone!
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