Pseudoephedrine, the main active ingredient in common cold medicines such as Sudafed, is chemically quite similar to ephedrine (hence the name). As such, it can be used to make methamphetamine. Since crank is quite illegal, and with the growth of small-scale meth labs which use pseudoephedrine in their production, many states have placed restrictions on the purchase of pseudoephedrine containing medicines.
So why do I care? There I am at 7:30, standing in Target (Tar-zhay?), and I’m in the market for pseudoephedrine. Not because I’m planning on starting up a meth lab in my new apartment. Instead, I just have a terrible cold, and I’m out of everything but Nyquil. Unfortunately, New York no longer allows the unregulated sale of pseudoephedrine. At Target, the process is very similar to purchasing large items: rather than picking up the item itself, you take a ticket for it. You then take the ticket to the pharmacy, and if you’re over 18, and you’re not buying too much, they’ll give you the medicine. Unfortunately, Target’s pharmacy closes at 7. So I’m without cold relief! Damn you, illicit methamphetmine producers!
Wait, you can do other things with pseudoephedrine besides make meth? This is news to me!
Comment by Tom Callaway — September 15, 2005 @ 10:29 am
I looked to see if you were online so I could say these things to you there, but you weren’t. So, here’s my list of things
1. Do you actually repost this in live journal or is there some option to do that for you?
2. What this? Unless I post a comment in lj I don’t get a response?
3. What do my comments sound so demanding?
4. Is that why I don’t get responses?
5. Personally I would damn the government for overreacting to this so called “meth menace” and passing ineffective laws that effect way to many people just to attack a symptom of a minor problem instead of attacking the root cause, ie the drackonian laws of the us in regards to drugs. Legal things are infinitely easier to control than illicit ones. I’m not saying Japan’s laws are better, quite the reverse actually as there’s one classification; go-to-jail-for-a-really-fucking-long-time-and-have-your-life-completely-ruined.
Comment by Brian Schuch — September 16, 2005 @ 9:30 am
Brian, I agree to some extent. I do think that a lot of drug laws are perhaps misguided and don’t do anything to actually stop drug use. However, I can see this law in another light. I don’t think it’s meant to stop meth use (or rather, I don’t think it will, even if the lawmakers think that it may), but instead is meant to curtail meth production (again, maybe not the original intent of the lawmakers, but this is the only effect that I think it may have). This is actually a vaguely admirable goal, because illicit meth labs are highly dangerous, not only to the people who run them, but to anyone around them. A lot of the chemicals used are highly toxic, volatile and even explosive. So if placing restrictions on pseudoephedrine makes it harder for my neighbor to start up a meth lab next to my new apartment, in my opinion, that’s a good thing.
Comment by Milind Kulkarni — September 17, 2005 @ 10:32 am
Yes, curbing production was the primary intent of the lawmakers, but once again, I must point out, if meth were legal (and thus controlled), meth labs would be almost non-existant (I’m not naive to think that they’d be completely gone, but it wouldn’t be like you could run down to your Target and buy a do-it-yourself meth kit). I am aware of the dangers of meth production and meth usage, and it is not pretty. However, I would be much happier if the heads went down to some local meth center and got their fix than me coming home and getting blown up because the moron couldn’t toss a salad properly.
Comment by Brian Schuch — September 17, 2005 @ 1:25 pm