# why do I need an ID to buy cold medicine **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 9, 2006, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-need-an-id-to-buy-cold-medicine/355998 "2006-05-09T01:19:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-need-an-id-to-buy-cold-medicine/355998/21 "2006-05-09T23:58:26Z")
They have been doing this in CA for ages, it seems… Sudafed and others behind the counter, showing my ID before I can buy a maximum of two boxes. It used to piss me off- I mean, I could buy a jar of 1000 of the damn pills at Costco not all that long ago. Two things- One, we have had a number of busts in upscale, $1M homes in family neighborhoods. The one I’m thinking of was in a house where the parents had gone off to Europe and the kids set up shop. Two, when my husband was a DA out in the Inland Empire, they would bust a house and find empty Sudafed blister-packs piled up 2 feet deep on the floor. Seriously. Yes, it seems stupid, but the fact is that OTC Sudafed makes _excellent_ street meth. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-need-an-id-to-buy-cold-medicine/355998/22 "2006-05-09T23:59:44Z")
> [@Wonko The Sane](#): > > I’ve heard Nyquil referred to as “Poor Man’s Creme De Menthe”. Kids are probably drinking it to get a buzz. Kids have been doing that for _years_. Somebody just got around to telling the squares. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-need-an-id-to-buy-cold-medicine/355998.md?page=1)