Stupid Sudafed laws

[Irishman]

So I have allergies. I had been taking Claritin, and following with OTC decongestants. The thing is, they don’t make the decongestants in an extended release formula, and it is only somewhat effective, so I would be taking it every 4 to 6 hours and getting periods of more and less congestion.

I finally decided to try Claritin-D, i.e. with sudafed. Now the thing is, this stuff is no longer OTC. I mean, it doesn’t require a prescription, but they keep it behind the pharmacy counter and you have to see the pharmacist to get it, so it is still controlled.

Anyway, I tried it out and it works pretty good. I found the 12 hr formula works a bit better at keeping my dose balanced. All great.

Except for the stupid law controlling the amount a person can buy. What does it say?

1. No individual can buy more than 3.5 mg in one day. 3.5 mg is equivalent to 15 days dosage.

2. No individual can buy more than 9.0 mg in a 30 day period. That is a 30 day period from date of sale, so if I want to buy today, May 13, that checks back to April 13 (15 days ago) to see how much I have bought in that period.

3. Purchasers must be 16 or older.

Okay, so I start trying to buy it. Now I like to buy early so I have it when I need it, and I like to buy in bulk so I don’t have to make as many trips to purchase it. The 15 day max supply means more frequent trips. That’s annoying enough.

But the 9 mg in a 30 period is a killer. Because the thing is, with the 30 day limit, I cannot buy a consistent package size or regular schedule.

Packaging comes in a few sizes: 1.2 mg (5 days), 2.4 mg (10 days), and 3.6 mg (15 days).

Suppose I buy my first batch on Apr 1, and get the 15 day pack. That is 3.6 mg, okay. Next I need to buy the second batch, so I buy it on Apr 13 (2 days early), another 3.6 mg. Fine. Now I am going to hit day 30 on Apr 30. I want to get it early so I have it on May 1. So I go to the store on Apr 28 (2 days early). Let’s see, last 30 days I have bought 3.6 + 3.6 = 7.2 mg. I can only buy 9.0 mg in a 30 day period. So I cannot buy 3.6 mg. I cannot buy 2.4 mg. Fortunately, they sell a 1.2 mg package.

But that’s silly. Those 5 days I am buying on Apr 28 I will not start taking until May 1. Most (all) of that purchase will be taken in a completely different 30 day period than the first purchase. I am buying ahead. But I can’t because of the 9 mg limit.

I’ve looked at the math. I have juggled package sizes and purchase schedules. Basically I cannot buy a consistent package size and purchase schedule unless I buy my next dose after I run out! Wait until May 1 and buy the 3.6 mg, sure, but I need to have it to take my May 1 morning pill. Or run to the store on the way to work.

Talk about a pain in the ass.

And that’s for me, a single person. What do you do if you have a kid with allergies, too?

I understand the concern about it being used as a precursor for meth. But this implementation is ridiculous.

[Johnny_Bravo]

Get a friend to buy you a pack every couple of months? Is that legal? It seems like one buffer 3.6 mg package would make things a whole lot easier for you.

[Machine_Elf]

@Irishman

Talk about a pain in the ass.

And that’s for me, a single person. What do you do if you have a kid with allergies, too?

Talk to your doc. Maybe you can get a prescription that will let you get the dosage you need, with refills available when you need them?

I understand the concern about it being used as a precursor for meth. But this implementation is ridiculous.

I understand it pisses you off, but is it ridiculous? Do you see a better way to fight meth production that would make things less inconvenient for us non-producers? If so, share your idea with your elected officials.

[shiftless]

Yes, the implementation is ridiculous. Pseudoephedrine is the only medicine I use on a regular basis and it is a pain in the ass to get. Some places will allow me to get two packages (48 of the little red pills), some claim I am only allowed one (24 pills.) I’m beginning to think they profile and just tell bearded males they are out because the two closest pharmacies to me rarely have any when I ask. Or maybe they just don’t want to bother. It looks like a real pain in the ass to record all the info for a $5 purchase.

[AngelSoft]

Hell, if the guy at the pharmacy was right, we can’t even BUY traditional sudafed otc anymore. My mom had to drive to Washington to get some. It’s been replaced here in Oregon by some…sudafed…ish…thing that doesn’t have the normal active ingredient of Sudafed.

[Sicks_Ate]

@Machine_Elf

Talk to your doc. Maybe you can get a prescription that will let you get the dosage you need, with refills available when you need them?

I understand it pisses you off, but is it ridiculous? Do you see a better way to fight meth production that would make things less inconvenient for us non-producers? If so, share your idea with your elected officials.

If it accomplished anything, it squeezed meth production from one jurisdiction to another. More meth comes from Mexico, now, for example. So yes, less meth is produced in large batches in the US now. The cost of that is extreme inconvenience to people who have severe allergies, and a reason for Mexican drug cartels to sustain their drug war.

But who cares if people die in drug wars, right? It’s not like they’re Americans.

[Blaster_Master]

I wasn’t aware of these laws, but this sound ridiculous and poorly thought out. Really, I think the answer is that if they’re trying to control the substance because it is used in meth production, why aren’t they just requiring a prescription?

If they don’t want to require a prescription, why not just track the purchases and then trigger if it hits some threshold. If they figure 9mg is safe in a 30day period to prevent meth, is 10mg suddenly too much? What if one person in a couple wants to buy some for both or for their kids?

[running_coach]

@Machine_Elf

Talk to your doc. Maybe you can get a prescription that will let you get the dosage you need, with refills available when you need them?

I understand it pisses you off, but is it ridiculous? Do you see a better way to fight meth production that would make things less inconvenient for us non-producers? If so, share your idea with your elected officials.

From here.

There’s a price paid in convenience by ordinary cold sufferers in order to help keep crystal meth abuse down.

Except, crystal meth abuse is going up.

The war on meth, including collateral damage to people with colds, has been stuck at a stalemate. Abuse rates initially dropped by two-thirds after the pseudoephedrine regulations went into effect. But over the last three years abuse is trending back up again toward pre-2006 levels. Meth users now buy drugs imported illegally from Mexico, according to a recent report in The Economist. The post-Sudafed meth is more refined (rising from 50% purity to 80% since 2006) and thus more addictive and dangerous. The temporary drop after 2006 is evidence that it took some time for new suppliers to emerge–not that abuse is down.

[Machine_Elf]

@Sicks_Ate

If it accomplished anything, it squeezed meth production from one jurisdiction to another. More meth comes from Mexico, now, for example. So yes, less meth is produced in large batches in the US now. The cost of that is extreme inconvenience to people who have severe allergies, and a reason for Mexican drug cartels to sustain their drug war.

But who cares if people die in drug wars, right? It’s not like they’re Americans.

None of your remarks answers the question: is there a better way to deal with methampetamine use? All I hear is people saying “this sucks,” but no one is suggesting an improvement.

[Grrr]

What’s stopping you from going to one pharmacy one day then going to another pharmacy another day? Are they all networked or something?

[running_coach]

@Shakes

What’s stopping you from going to one pharmacy one day then going to another pharmacy another day? Are they all networked or something?

In California, the DL is swipeable and goes to a central database.

[Broomstick]

@Sicks_Ate

If it accomplished anything, it squeezed meth production from one jurisdiction to another

Well, my area also has fewer trailer parks, hotel rooms, and car trunks blowing up as fewer locals are cooking their own. Which is a plus, of sorts. I doubt meth consumption has gone down, and as noted it’s now supplied by Mexican drug cartels, but local damage from sloppy production has gone down.

I think different states have different purchase limits. The limits noted by the OP seem a bit more onerous than the ones where I live, and I can legally purchase up to 96 doses at a time rather than 48, but I still have to be careful about the 90 day limits.

Fortunately, I don’t require pseudeoephedrine (the active ingredient that causes all the fuss) every day. I purchase it separately from my other allergy meds. Sure, that’s more pills to take but I can then tailor the day’s dose to what I actually need based on symptoms.

Also, the FAA didn’t want me to fly under the influence of pseudoephedrine so back when I was doing that I needed loratidine (that’s generic Claritin) without anything else. Rules and all.

[Broomstick]

@Shakes

What’s stopping you from going to one pharmacy one day then going to another pharmacy another day? Are they all networked or something?

The purchases are tracked. Get caught doing that you can go to jail.

Well, if you stay within the purchase limits you can pharmacy hop all you want, but if you exceed them…

[Dr.Strangelove]

@Machine_Elf

None of your remarks answers the question: is there a better way to deal with methampetamine use? All I hear is people saying “this sucks,” but no one is suggesting an improvement.

The improvement is to stop the tracking completely because it’s been totally ineffectual at reducing meth use.

It may be that there’s no effective way to cut meth use. If that’s the case, we shouldn’t be implementing stupid measures just to say that we’re doing something.

Of course, politicians always want to be seen as doing something. And unfortunately, they do get voted in and out based on that, even if the suggested measures are useless.

[Cheez_Whia]

As a year-round allergy sufferer, I fully endorse this pitting. Sometimes I have my husband pick up a box for me if he’s been using it too. I use Walgreen’s Wal-Phed (red pills) in a 96 count box. You can also get 12 and 24 hour versions, but sometimes they get me too dried out (I live in a desert).

Another reason to keep it behind the counter is to stop theft. I’m pretty sure most of it that went to making meth wasn’t actually purchased.

[missouri65]

@Machine_Elf

None of your remarks answers the question: is there a better way to deal with methampetamine use? All I hear is people saying “this sucks,” but no one is suggesting an improvement.

Pretty much anything that actually deals with meth use, as opposed to bothering people with stuffy noses and headaches? I’d recommend focusing on actual methamphetamine, rather than precursors, but I’m crazy like that. It isn’t just that it sucks, it’s that it sucks and isn’t effective.

My pharmacist recommended that I talk to my doctor about a prescription. Maybe you should do the same, Irishman.

[missred]

As others have suggested, a prescription will get a 90 day supply at a time for you. An added benefit is that usually, you will get it for your prescription co-pay. I don’t take the decongestant part of it, but am prescribed loratadine (Claratin). I pay $10 for 90 days.

[JRDelirious]

There are insurances, however, that will not cover an OTC product even if prescribed, so that should be checked with the insurance carrier. Still, the 'script should lift the hassle of getting a steady supply even if that were the case.

[Ambivalid]

I feel like a tweaker when I’m going through the drills at the pharmacy counter and I’m being leered at by the pharmacist like I’m part of a underground drug ring. I can’t help it.

[Rhiannon8404]

I went in to CVS to buy Claritin today. The lady in the pharmacy was really nice. Could be she could tell I had run out and was suffering, what with the itchy, swollen eyes and runny nose. She was even, like, “Oh wait…I have one last box of 15, do you want that instead, honey?”

Thankfully Suburban Plankton doesn’t suffer from allergies and he can buy me more if I exceed my limit.