Ravenwood - 02/01/05 06:30 AM
As if our lives needed more government regulation, you may soon need a permit to buy Sudafed.
A dozen Republican and Democratic senators want to put nonprescription cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient used to make meth, behind the counter. Consumers would have to talk to a pharmacy worker and show photo ID before purchasing Sudafed, Tylenol flu medicine or other popular remedies.I hate meth labs as much as the next guy, but punishing honest folks isn't the way to go. Cracking down on the sale of cold medicine certainly isn't going to make even the smallest of dents in the war on drugs.
The money would be better spent on enforcement. And it wouldn't hurt to ditch the current catch and release program. If meth is so evil, why not take the China approach and shoot these guys in the back of the head. (Or whatever the politically correct, non-human rights violating equivalent may be.)
in California, you can only buy three packages of anything containing pseudoephedrine at a time. I don't mind....you really don't need much more than that at any given moment anyway.
Still, we've become a little goofy on all the regs anymore.
Posted by: Da Goddess at February 1, 2005 6:33 AMAs I pointed out, this takes a non-violent part of meth making and making it violent, since it promotes theft, robbery, and hijacking over purchasing.
Posted by: Brian J. at February 1, 2005 8:20 AMI think I'll go buy a case of Sudafed after work today, you know, just to see them sweat.
Posted by: roger at February 1, 2005 9:18 AMSudafed is already on the list of proscribed drugs for athletes; you can get kicked out of the Olympics for taking it.
Posted by: Thibodeaux at February 1, 2005 10:23 AMWe already have this law here in Oregon. It doesn't do any good. They have interviewed pharmacists on the local news and they say that the guys from the meth labs just come in by the van full and each one buys the max. amt. allowed. There is nothing they can do to prevent them from buying it this way.
Posted by: big sis at February 1, 2005 11:07 AMI know you will hate this suggestion, but I can't help wondering -- maybe this should be a *prescription* drug?
Personally, I bought Sudafed for the first time in a long while a few weeks ago. I took one pill and remembered why I hadn't bought it recently. I felt like I was on speed (if I knew what that was like).
Maybe I should sell the remainder on Ebay.
Posted by: cj at February 1, 2005 11:38 PMYeah, cause drug addicts never get their hands on prescription drugs.
Posted by: Ravenwood at February 2, 2005 6:02 AM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
