RX for Cold Tablets?

**theworm**[$] · #1 07-21-2005, 12:49 PM

Maybe.

Oregon Lawmakers Approve Anti-Meth Bill http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050721/D8BFO5E00.html

Quote:

The state House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would make Oregon the first state to require a prescription for certain cold medicines, the latest attempt to curb methamphetamine production.

Well. Oregon is certainly taking a stance on the drug scene. I agree with the ruling about Prescription marijuana - though I have problems with how it will be implemented and controlled. Requiring a prescription for cold tablets? I'm not liking that.

Quote:

If the bill becomes law, "the days of just going to the store for these trusted and effective products is over. You would have to go to your doctor first," the ad says.

Some drug companies have begun reformulating cold medicines with substitutes for pseudoephedrine that cannot be used in meth labs.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE), which makes the decongestant Sudafed and other leading pseudoephedrine products, is marketing a pseudoephedrine-free version of the drug and plans by January to reformulate up to half of the products with a substitute known as phenylephrine.

seems like encouraging drug companies to reformulate their cold medicines would be a smarter way to go.

**mjfrombuffalo**[$] · #2 07-21-2005, 01:01 PM

Depends on where you are, too. We keep asking our NY State foster care agencies if there's been this epidemic of meth... nada, although the midwest state foster care agencies are being hit hard. What might be a huge issue for Oregon does not seem to be an issue here. (Maybe NY State residents learned from the early 90's crack epidemic?)

Depending on what store I go to, pseudephedrine is on the shelf or behind the front counter by the cashier. Some places, I've heard, put the pseudephedrine behind the pharmacy counter but I haven't seen that around here yet.

**theworm**[$] · #3 07-21-2005, 01:05 PM

I've also heard of drug stores and 7-11s having to keep mouthwash behind locks because people were stealing it to get drunk.
Where there is a will, there is a way.

cristina1 · #4 07-21-2005, 01:18 PM

Why can't the meth people just go to surrounding states to buy the drugs? Sounds silly to me. And the reason I take things like Claritin-D when I need it is to avoid the doctor - having to see a doc and then drag the kids to the pharmacy to get it would tick me off. And as MJ said, meth isnt a problem here.

cristina1 · #5 07-21-2005, 01:19 PM

Quote:

theworm said

I've also heard of drug stores and 7-11s having to keep mouthwash behind locks because people were stealing it to get drunk.
Where there is a will, there is a way.

This is too true. Heck, kids are sniffing things like Dust Off to get a high.

*emeleel* · #6 07-21-2005, 01:57 PM

Meth's a big problem here. But the stores have only recently gone to putting the stuff behind the counter. Sadly, when they did that, some have decided to take certain store-brand formulations off their shelves so now we're stuck with paying for name brands. I know there's at least one of the Walmart forumulations that my mom used to buy that's no longer available, and when I tried to get some allergy/sinus at Target the other day, they'd gotten rid of their brand of that, too.

But Rx for that stuff? NO thank you. Sudafed's already got one non-pseudoephidrine formula out, the rest of 'em can just line up, too.

**pippadaisy**[$] · #7 07-21-2005, 02:30 PM

How come no one sees that the simple solution is to limit the number of packages that can be purchased? No normal person is buying more than two packs at a time, and no meth lab dude is buying that few. Seems simple. LIMIT.

:

**lynnzop**[$] · #8 07-21-2005, 02:34 PM

Pippa, they've already done that here (Iowa/NE has huge meth problem) AND put it behind the counter. Too soon to know yet if it's had much impact.

**pippadaisy**[$] · #9 07-21-2005, 02:36 PM

Meth is so darn simple to make and I'll be honest... if I was going to start up a meth lab, I sure wouldn't be buying stuff like that in the local market.

*emeleel* · #10 07-21-2005, 03:47 PM

We've had the limits on boxes around here for a good while, even before I knew about it. The stupid part of the limit was that it didn't matter was COUNT SIZE the boxes were - you could only buy the limit of BOXES, no matter whether there were 5 pills in there or 96. (Sam's, last time I was there, which was a long time ago, used to carry 96 count boxes.) That was really bright.

**mjfrombuffalo**[$] · #11 07-21-2005, 04:38 PM

96's are still available. CVS still makes their store-brand pseudephedrine.

**jgibson2**[$] · #12 07-21-2005, 05:46 PM

Local pharmacies are putting pseudoephedrine behind the counter to head off a similarly stupid law here. They already limited packages.

We don't even HAVE a meth problem yet.

phenylephrine? I can't take the stuff. My head would blow off.