# Should OTC Pseudophedrine drugs require a prescription to purchase? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 7, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518 "2011-02-07T15:11:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/21 "2011-02-09T19:48:34Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Explain this to me. I assumed it was required to make meth. So you don’t even NEED it? Why is it such a big deal then? Is it just cheaper or easier? Meth can be made from Methylamine, a commecially-available (though controlled) chemical used in producing a number of industrial chemicals (pesticides, solvents, etc.). Considering it’s a controlled substance and usually stored in industrial warehouses, surely it’s easier to hire a couple of smurfs to visit pharmacies than steal your precursor from a fenced-in, guarded compound. Yes _Breaking Bad_ has been a great source of education on this topic:-) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/22 "2011-02-09T20:12:28Z")
> [@CJJ](#): > > Yes _Breaking Bad_ has been a great source of education on this topic:-) One of my favorite shows.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/23 "2011-02-10T03:26:38Z")
Never heard of it but I think I need to be watching it. I love pseudoephedrine like crazy and I’m fine with filling out forms and showing ID every time I buy it but I’m not going to pay cash to see a doctor on top of a prescription bill. It just sucks that everyone has to suffer because some people abuse it. We don’t ban alcohol despite the thousands who get killed or injured because of drunk drivers. Of course I realize liquor stores are far less dangerous than meth labs. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/24 "2011-02-10T03:46:26Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > We don’t ban alcohol despite the thousands who get killed or injured because of drunk drivers. Actually we DID try that… but removed the ban some years later because on the whole it was causing more damage than just allowing liquor sales. > [@](#): > > Of course I realize liquor stores are far less dangerous than meth labs. True. Liquor stores are much less likely to spontaneously explode. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/25 "2011-02-10T16:15:37Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > True. Liquor stores are much less likely to spontaneously explode. It is estimated that [20% of meth labs are discovered via explosion/fire](http://fightagainstp.com/index.php/methamphetamine-labs/meth-lab-dangers). And even if you avoid this danger, there is the accidental production of HCl and the extremely toxic phosphine gas. While explosions are often the result of carelessness, phosphine is a risk even if you know what you’re doing. If _BB_ is any indication, the smarter cooks usually wear gas masks:-) ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/26 "2011-02-10T16:32:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Actually we DID try that… but removed the ban some years later because on the whole it was causing more damage than just allowing liquor sales. > True. Liquor stores are much less likely to spontaneously explode. So it seems like we’re doing pretty much all we can with the whole restriction thing. I suppose the government could offer classes on meth safety. They could come up with a catchy tune for mnemonic purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/27 "2011-02-11T11:52:50Z")
Excuse me, I have to go take my OTC cough syrup with codeine… OK, now that I’m back: same as I’m happy I can just go to a pharmacy and ask for “cough syrup - the strong stuff” without a prescription, I think that asking for a scrip on pseudoephedrine meds is overdoing it. Also, if the IDs are registered (as opposed to stared at more-or-less blankly), wouldn’t tracking them be a relatively-easy way to detect smurfers? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/28 "2011-02-11T12:08:26Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Also, if the IDs are registered (as opposed to stared at more-or-less blankly), wouldn’t tracking them be a relatively-easy way to detect smurfers? AFAIK, even with showing my ID, this afternoon I can go to walmart buy a box, go to Target buy a box, go to Walgreens and buy a box, and go to Rite-Aid and buy a box…I just can’t buy more than one box a week at each. I’m not even sure that I couldn’t go to Walmart in Portsmouth _and_ Sommersworth _and_ Newington _and_ Epping today and pick up boxes if I didn’t mind driving around - I do know for certain that I’ve had to have info entered at every different Walmart I’ve bought Sudafed and Primatene…so this suggests that they’re not entered my info into even a statewide database of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/29 "2011-02-11T12:55:13Z")
> [@CJJ](#): > > Meth can be made from Methylamine, a commecially-available (though controlled) chemical used in producing a number of industrial chemicals (pesticides, solvents, etc.). Considering it’s a controlled substance and usually stored in industrial warehouses, surely it’s easier to hire a couple of smurfs to visit pharmacies than steal your precursor from a fenced-in, guarded compound. > > Yes _Breaking Bad_ has been a great source of education on this topic:-) It always took me an extra week in grad school to get aqueous methylamine (methylamine is a gas and is often supplied as a 40% aqueous solution) just to do phthalimide deprotections thanks to the DEA. There’s a number of ways to quickly synthesize methamphetamine and most of the obvious precursors are controlled in one way or another. It’s also a very simple molecule and, let’s face it, meth cookers aren’t going to be worried about enantiomeric purity. Or the purity in general. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/30 "2011-02-11T13:42:00Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > AFAIK, even with showing my ID, this afternoon I can go to walmart buy a box, go to Target buy a box, go to Walgreens and buy a box, and go to Rite-Aid and buy a box…I just can’t buy more than one box a week at each. Here in Indiana they record your driver’s license number when you purchase the pseudo and it goes into a state database. If you exceed your permitted amount, even if you do it by driving around to different stores, you WILL be arrested. This has happened to people all over the state, in some cases to people who just weren’t aware they were exceeding the allowed amount over the course of three months by purchasing one box too many. You won’t get cuffs slapped on you at point of sale, no, the cops will come to your residence or place of work to arrest you. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/31 "2011-02-11T13:44:05Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > AFAIK, even with showing my ID, this afternoon I can go to walmart buy a box, go to Target buy a box, go to Walgreens and buy a box, and go to Rite-Aid and buy a box…I just can’t buy more than one box a week at each. You just described smurfing. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/32 "2011-02-11T13:47:25Z")
Some states have determined that the sharing of the identity information with authorities violates certain privacy provisions of the same state’s laws. Therefore in those states, law enforcement has no means to determine when someone is smurfing. So it goes on with abandon. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518/33 "2011-02-11T16:16:36Z")
The last time I bought some, there was a note at the bottom of the receipt telling me how many grams I had just bought (1.7g?), and what the daily limit is in my area (2.6?). I don’t really recall what the numebrs were, but you get the general idea. I was thinking how useful it would be to a smurf, and wondering what happens if they buy the limit daily. In this day and age, it seems ridiculous to think that they wouldn’t be tracking across retailers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-otc-pseudophedrine-drugs-require-a-prescription-to-purchase/570518.md?page=1)