LAT: States Look to Cut a Vein in Meth's Supply Chain

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-meth10jan10,0,685627,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Over-the-counter cold pills may be removed from store shelves across much of the Southwest and Midwest this year as officials struggle to crack down on methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant that can be brewed from decongestants and other common household items.

At least 20 states are considering tight restrictions on access to Sudafed, NyQuil, Claritin-D, Tylenol Flu and hundreds of other cold, allergy and sinus remedies that contain pseudoephedrine.

Details vary, but in many states only pharmacists or their assistants would be allowed to dispense the medicines. Customers would have to show identification — and even enter their addresses in a law enforcement database. Some states may also restrict purchases to as few as two to three boxes a month.

In most cases, the controls would apply only to pseudoephedrine tablets; gel caps and liquid formulas are generally exempt because it's much harder to convert them to illegal drugs.

The pharmaceutical industry strongly opposes the proposed restrictions, arguing that they would inconvenience legitimate customers, especially in rural areas, where the nearest pharmacy may be 40 miles away and open only on weekdays. The trade association representing chain drugstores also plans to lobby against the legislative action. So do some convenience store owners.

[FlemingsGhost]

1. Good news for pot smokers

That's right fools, throw a whole bunch of that "War on Drugs" money toward rooting out tweekers. We'll keep on toking ...

[girl gone mad]

2. It is good news.

I had no idea how many meth heads there were in rural areas until I moved to one. It's a huge problem. I've heard it described as the poor man's Starbucks. Poor people in rural communities have to work long hours to make ends meet, and so some of them start doing meth in order to keep their energy level up, but soon enough they are addicted.

I would much prefer a community of pot heads to a community of meth heads. This is exactly why the drug laws are so idiotic. Kids assume pot is illegal and it's pretty safe, so meth probably isn't much worse than pot. Or kids who smoke pot have to buy through dealers who are eager to push them into trying harder stuff.

[DBoon]

3. Crank - the drug of red states

aome connection between the drug and the politics - extreme agression followed by paranoia sound like republican values these days.

[David__77]

5. I don't know about that--it's pretty big in California.

I think it's a function of socio-economic status. Speed is indeed the "poor man's cocaine." Certainly I see it more in poorer areas, but it's not limited to certain political demographics.

[MadHound]

4. This isn't going to make a damn bit of difference in the meth supply

Not in the long run, and probably not in the short run either. Meth and other drug chemists have been cobbling their drugs together out of such strange ingredients as matches and battery acid for a couple of decades. When the authorities crack down on one particular ingredient, they simply find another one, usually fairly quickly. So restrictions get put on cold medicines, the meth chemists will move on to using cough drops or what have you. Instead of decreasing the meth supply, all this manuevering does is continue to erode our liberties and Constitution, and deny legitamite consumers of products that will ease their condition.

What should be done instead is declare the drug war dead, legalize all drugs, control and regulate them like is done with alcohol, and use the tax proceeds to for education and treatment programs. People as a whole have an inherient need to alter their state of conciousnous, and will do so whether or not it is legal to do so. Trying to make such matters illegal will have about as much success as making sex illegal. People will continue to do what they wish anyway, and the cure, as we have seen with both Prohibition and the Drug War, is worse than the cause.