Law clears some drug store shelves

Pittsburgh Tribune Review ^ | April 23 | Rich Cholodofsky

[PghBaldy]

I went to buy some today, they only had small boxes. I went to the counter to get it, and the woman behind the counter asked for ID. She then said, take it out of your wallet. She scanned it. I asked what this was about, then sarcastically said why don't they just make it illegal? I don't know why it bothered me so. After searching I discovered it's one of the gems in the Patriot Act. I need to take allergy pills (with pseudoephedrine) much of the year. If I don't, I can't function. I am not a criminal. I am not a druggie. I understand the reasoning behind this, but am getting sick of the govt's need to know what I buy. They know more about me than I wish.

[4U2OUI]

"They know more about me than I wish."

They already did.

[DoughtyOne]

Forcing every citizen to prove they aren't a crook, isn't the type of nation I expected to live in when I was growing up.

[sheik yerbouty]

It's becoming an epidemic. No tyranny was ever established in the name of tyranny. This has already gone too far..

[Roccus]

Been that way here in WV for a while.

[Graybeard58]

it's one of the gems in the Patriot Act.

I don't know what the patriot act has to do with it. In some states you have to show id and some you don't.

[atomic_dog]

over-the-counter medications that can be abused or used by drug rings to manufacture methamphetamines

Right on! We can't have those negro jazz musicians getting hopped up and raping our white women!

/S

[Freee-dame]

pseudoephedrine

IF people do not specifically want this ingredient, at least they may now be aware that it can cause an increased heart rate. This can be dangerous for someone with unrecognized atrial fibrillation. I am not speaking about the requirement for signature, etc., just the publication that it is not a benign ingredient.

[4U2OUI]

Not benign, but damn effective. I can't think of a substitute with equivalent efficacy.

[kenth]

The downfall of America, should it happen, won't come from the outside. It will come from within.

Terrorism pales in comparison to what we'll allow to be done to ourselves.

[ozarkgirl]

I know this is a nuisance, I've had to buy as well but here in Missouri meth production was rampant and has been drastically decreased by this law. Often times the ones that get hooked on this stuff are teenagers, then their life is ruined, they spend years in jail (at taxpayer expense), manufacture and get other kids hooked. It is troublesome and I'm not for lots of laws but I stand behind this one.

[DoughtyOne]

I agree.

Think about it. If a non citizen shows up at a hospital emergency room, they can get any healthcare needs met.

If a citizen shows up at a pharmacy looking for a decongestant, they must present their identification to be swiped into a federal database.

This is the absurdity that passes for reasoned logic in the United States these days.

[PghBaldy]

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=63227 "The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, part of the just renewed PATRIOT Act, will be of immense help. The new law also establishes a national standard regulating meth ingredients, confronts the human and environmental consequences of the toxic labs, and increases the penalties for drug kingpins." This is a quote from Att Gen Alberto Gonzales. He starts out talking about how he is a child of Mexican immigrants...

[reformedliberal]

Me, too. I use a liquigel combined w/guafenisin, not daily, but whenever certain plants pollinate. I use it in combination w/my antihistamine. I had been under the impression that the meth producers couldn't use that.

The pharmacy tech I spoke with said that they may even make all pseudophed prescription only. Those of us who have been using it for years would have no real problem, she added. Also, she said that anyone using less than 1gm/month would not be hassled as much once they get their database compiled.

It is no consolation, I know, but the pharmacists didn't seem all that impressed with the entire situation, either.

However, meth is evidently a real plague, from what I have read and heard. If they do this and discover it is all really coming in from Mexico, we might stand a chance of getting it reversed.

BTW, in Australia, Immodium is prescription only. I have no idea why.

[jess35]

I'd rather make parents legally responsible for the actions of their children than impose one more regulation on law abiding citizens.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

They'll have to pull the Claritan-D out of my cold, dead, but OPEN nasal passages.

[pandoraou812]

There is a major problem with kids making the meth. I agree its a pain to show id but I'd rather not see kids on drugs. I had not known how bad it was until I saw a program on it. It's really heartbreaking. I totally agree with you on this law.

[Doctor Stochastic]

The War On Terrorism soldiers on.

[PghBaldy]

Public drunks is a problem everywhere. Why don't we do breathalyzers in bars? I also see kids riding bikes "too fast" maybe they should be clocked by the State Troopers. Fat people everywhere. Maybe we can save their lives by refusing to serve them at buffets... Where does it stop. BTW, I was annoyed with this stuff when I was a liberal too. It's the constant "need" for evermore info on us. Not the terrorists, or the drug dealers, but everyone.

[4U2OUI]

Dude, Claritin-D is a P.O. med...