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[Lo-Volt]

Washington (Reuters)- The Senate moved on Friday to stop the proliferation of illicit methamphetamine labs by limiting sales of common cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a primary ingredient in the illegal drug.

The Senate approved the measure as an amendment to an appropriations bill funding law enforcement activities as well as a range of federal agencies. That bill is expected to be approved next week.

The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Jim Talent, a Missouri Republican, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, would move cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed, NyQuil, and Tylenol Cold, behind pharmacy counters and limit how much one person can buy to 7.5 grams a month, or about 250 tablets of 30 milligram each.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...IDST_0_HEALTH-CONGRESS-METHAMPHETAMINE-DC.XML

 

[MIMIC]

And in other news, the Senate approved a new bill to shut down the Internet to curb pirating.

 

[Incognito]

Washington (Reuters)- The Senate moved on Friday to stop the proliferation of illicit methamphetamine labs by limiting sales of common cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a primary ingredient in the illegal drug.

The Senate approved the measure as an amendment to an appropriations bill funding law enforcement activities as well as a range of federal agencies. That bill is expected to be approved next week.

The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Jim Talent, a Missouri Republican, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, would move cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed, NyQuil, and Tylenol Cold, behind pharmacy counters and limit how much one person can buy to 7.5 grams a month, or about 250 tablets of 30 milligram each.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...IDST_0_HEALTH-CONGRESS-METHAMPHETAMINE-DC.XML

texas has already passed its own laws concerning meth and cold medicines. it's a pretty sad sight when you visit walgreens and notices little yellow posits stating you are only allowed to purchase two packs of these "illegal" cold medicines at a time.

 

[Dan]

Under the amendment, customers will be required to show a photo identification and sign a log. The bill envisages a computer tracking system to stop people from buying pills at multiple stores.

I assume this computer system would be checked before you leave the store, as otherwise useless in stopping immediate purchases and it would put the onus on customers to remember when they last bought it in order to not commit a crime.

The limit also seems pretty extreme given the nature of the pills. From what I can tell, all of these pills are approximately 370mg and you can take up to 8 a day. Unless I suck at math, you wouldn't be able to buy more than 20 of these pills a month. That's seems pretty damn restrictive for people using them for their medicinal purposes.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

on that note, why is meth so popular?

also, the drug companies are making pills that are don't have the pseudoephedrine in them.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

on that note, why is meth so popular?

also, the drug companies are making pills that are don't have the pseudoephedrine in them.

Cheap to make and easily accessible to places where drugs are otherwise hard to find. Anyone can make meth with household chemicals vs. covert smuggling of heroin, cocaine, and some forms of marijuana, etc.

 

[Ecrofirt]

meth also completely fucks your brain very quickly, so I can't understand why anyone would want to use it.

 

[maharg]

The limit also seems pretty extreme given the nature of the pills. From what I can tell, all of these pills are approximately 370mg and you can take up to 8 a day. Unless I suck at math, you wouldn't be able to buy more than 20 of these pills a month. That's seems pretty damn restrictive for people using them for their medicinal purposes.

The dosage the pill provides is different from the total size of the pill. The important part here is the Pseudophedrine hydrochloride, which is only 30mg of the 370mg in a dayquil liquicap (most of it is acetaminophen, which is not at issue).

 

[Dan]

The dosage the pill provides is different from the total size of the pill. The important part here is the Pseudophedrine hydrochloride, which is only 30mg of the 370mg in a dayquil liquicap (most of it is acetaminophen, which is not at issue).

If the measurement is only in relation to the Pseudophedrine hydrochloride, fine, but I didn't exactly take that from the wording of the article.

 

[maharg]

Well, you pointed out yourself how utterly absurd it would be otherwise. 2 days worth a month would be useless for someone who actually needs it. There's no way they would actually pass a law that amounted to restricting the amount of acetaminophen you can buy when it's something else altogether that's the issue. The article also points out the 30mg number, which is probably the standard dosage in any of these pills (as it is in dayquill liquicaps).

I know it's popular to think that lawmakers are really utter baffoons, but stuff like this would have been based on recomendations from the FDA, not from the brains of the congressman who introduced the bill.

 

[Cloudy]

I was like WTF when I had to show ID to buy OTC cold medication the other day...

 

[Dan]

Well, you pointed out yourself how utterly absurd it would be otherwise. 2 days worth a month would be useless for someone who actually needs it. There's no way they would actually pass a law that amounted to restricting the amount of acetaminophen you can buy when it's something else altogether that's the issue. The article also points out the 30mg number, which is probably the standard dosage in any of these pills (as it is in dayquill liquicaps).

Yeah, I guess that makes sense.

I know it's popular to think that lawmakers are really utter baffoons, but stuff like this would have been based on recomendations from the FDA, not from the brains of the congressman who introduced the bill.

The FDA's got people like Dr. Hager, so they sure as hell aren't getting any great credit from me. It may be the FDA, but that doesn't mean Bush can't stuff it with his goons.

 

[belgurdo]

Coming to a theatre near you: Sudafed Madness