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Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine

By TChris, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Thu Jul 28, 2005 at 12:23:33 PM EST
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by TChris

As TalkLeft discussed here, some states are making it more difficult for cold sufferers to buy over-the-counter medications containing pseudoephedrine, because the drug can be used (albeit not easily) to manufacture methamphetamine. Now the federal government wants to get into the act (doesn't it always?), by requiring stores that sell Sudafed, Nyquil and other medicines containing pseudoephedrine to keep them behind the pharmacy counter.

Consumers would have to show a photo ID, sign a log, and be limited to 7.5 grams - or about 250 30-milligram pills - in a 30-day period. Computer tracking would prevent customers from exceeding the limit at other stores, according to the bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Jim Talent, R-Mo.

In its present form, the bill is even more silly, as it exempts stores that don't have a pharmacy.

That exception allowed states to work with the Drug Enforcement Administration to license certain employees who are not pharmacists to sell the medicines.

Employees need to be licensed to sell Sudafed? How ridiculous. Of course, if the bill is successful, meth makers will be forced to steal Sudafed rather than buy it (just like they now steal anhydrous ammonia, another ingredient in a common meth formula). Is that beneficial for society?

In any event, if your nose is dripping (or even if it isn't), stock up on Sudafed and Nyquil now ... unless you want the feds tracking your use of cold medicine.

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    Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine | 26 comments (26 topical)
    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#1)
    by jen on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    I wondered why the sudafed had dispeared from the rite aid I go to. I wish many colds and stuffy noses upon everyone who votes for this bill.

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#2)
    by roy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    Reminds me of gun control -- take a product that has both legitimate and illegal uses, and make people go through hoops to get it. Then act surprised when honest people are inconvenienced or endangered, and criminals continue to be criminals. (TL doesn't advocate gun control, but plenty of Leftists do)

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#3)
    by MikeDitto on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    A lot of pharmacies already keep it behind the counter, just because it gets stolen so much. The same is true for Coricidin and dextromethorphan (Robitussin), which kids in particular like to get high on even without any further processing. But my impression is that they keep it behind the counter more as a loss prevention measure rather than the desire to curb meth production.

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#4)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    Jesus that's the stupidiest thing I've read here in many moons. What the heck is wrong with these people? Fire 'em all.

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    Roy wrote:
    (TL doesn't advocate gun control, but plenty of Leftists do)
    And I'm not one of them. As a gun owner, I find gun control as absurd as the Federal government trying to regulate cough syrup. Where is this smaller government you rightwingers talked so loudly of throughout the entire 90's? Under the Bush administration, the government has grown to FDR style proportions without the strong social structure that justifies such massive proportions. All I see today is the Federal government taking my money so they can go blow up innocent people halfway around the world with it and stick their long arm right up my butt here at home. You rightwingers are one to talk, you make Clinton's big government look damn near like a Libertarian state in comparison.

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#6)
    by legion on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    Computer tracking would prevent customers from exceeding the limit at other stores
    And exactly what is this "com-pu-ter tra-cking" of which you speak? I'm sure there are systems that currently connect pharmacies so they can look up patient and drug info, but as TChris notes, this ignores any outlets that don't have a pharmacy. So where will the money for this new network of Big Brotherdom come from? I wonder...

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#7)
    by desertswine on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    Well, thank god I can still get my cancer sticks and rotgut whiskey at my local Walgreen's.

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#8)
    by txpublicdefender on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    A friend of mine was suffering from a cold a few weeks ago. She stopped by her local Walgreens to buy some NyQuil. She picked up three boxes and headed to the checkout line. When the cashier was scanning the items, an alarm went off. The cashier told her that she had exceeded the limit of how much cold medicine she could purchase (I don't know if this is a law or a store policy). Anyway, before my friend could respond, the cashier just asked her if it would be okay to ring up her purchase in two batches and run her credit card twice to get around the alarm. Of course, my friend was grateful, but we both got a good laugh out of the effectiveness of such a policy or law when it is so easy to get around.

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    These new rules can get expensive, quickly. Evidently Washington state has a similar law: 1 box at a time, no more than 30 tabs a box, etc. A good friend of mine has a husband and 4 kids, and they live 30 minutes from the nearest drugstore. Last winter, when they all had colds or the flu at the same time (plus one has allergies all the time), they'd go through the one box limit every couple of days. So then one of the two adults has to go driving an hour to get more. Normally they'd drive that far only 3 times a month, not 3 times a week. That gas money and wear-and-tear adds up. My friend could only wince on thinking how many more people were exposed to her cold: she'd be sneezing and coughing like a banshee, but they needed a decongestant that works.

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    A useless law. A big deal is made of the home meth labs and they are hazardous, but the bulk of the meth comes from Mexico. Trust me on this one, I do plenty of drug cases in a border state(AZ). The precursor chemicals can be bought in bulk down there and cops are much easier to bribe. Probably 98% comes from the big mexican labs.

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    As a left leaning police officer who reads this site on a daily basis I wanted to add some thoughts to this conversation. I have seen the effects of meth labs and have been trained in how its made. It's simple to make with ingredients that are easily available at most Wal-Mart type stores. It's extremely dangerous to officers who have to respond to the house, car, storage shed or any place else that this stuff is being made. Our meth doesn't come from Mexico...it's homemade. It has damaging effects on the user....and the user's family. It's a problem that will only get worse. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the drug companies have come up with substitutes for the chemical in Sudafed that is used for the production of meth...why isn't that issue pushed more than making it more difficult for legal users to get the product?

    Re: Feds Want to Restrict Sale of Cold Medicine (none / 0) (#12)
    by roy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    All I see today is the Federal government taking my money so they can go blow up innocent people halfway around the world with it and stick their long arm right up my butt here at home. You rightwingers are one to talk, you make Clinton's big government look damn near like a Libertarian state in comparison.
    I mostly agree with you. I'm probably more winged than the average TL poster, but I agree with about half the items on TL's agenda I linked above. I'm among those who feel betrayed by the Republicans abandoning "small government" now that federal power equals Republican power. Republicans and Democrats h