I just bought some medicines for my cold/flu needs at the local CVS Pharmacy.
I got the generic for Robitussin DM and the generic for Mucinex.
Now, I totally understand that Robitussin DM has dextromethorphan in it, and is a drug of abuse.
However, the pharmacy employee said specifically that I was getting carded because of the guaifenesin.
As far as I can tell, guaf has no psychoactive effects, and does nothing that would be of any use to drug abusers… unless they had a cold or flu.
So, was she perhaps lying or mistaken, or is there some reason to worry about guaifenesin abuse?
I have never heard of guaifenesin being used to make meth. It’s other components of cold medicine like pseudoephedrine that are the problem. The pharmacist/clerk was probably confused.
Or maybe there’s a new drug of abuse out there that you can synthesize at home from expectorated mucus, produced by the action of guaifenesin. :eek:
Can you be more specific about the type of Mucinex you got? Did you get Mucinex D? Even if not, the clerk might have thought so, or the store checks no matter what, all because Mucinex D containes psuedoephedrine.
Take a quick look around and you’ll see guaifenesin is very often combined with other drugs, pseudoephedrine included. It may be easier for them to simply card every decongestant to avoid anything being overlooked, or they may have carried a version with codine or pseudoephedrine before and it’s still policy etc.
Also as being a fellow Ohioan, of course you would know something about meth, as that is a fair problem in this area, but there are a lot of places that remain completely ignorant of that problem and wouldn’t automatically make that connection.
gary,
No, I got the off-brand of Mucinex that is dextromethorphan only.
I believe that would be ‘DM’ if it had been name brand.
In Ohio, if it had contained pseudoephedrine it would not have been in the over-the-counter section. This was on the shelf, and clearly shelved in such a fashion that it was meant to be on the shelf.
According to this site (http://www.stopmedicineabuse.org/resources/fact-sheets/teen-cough-medicine-abuse-overview/), dextromethorphan has the potential for abuse. From just a quick glance around this site, it seems a little alarmist (won’t someone think of the CHILDREN??!). But whether the fear is valid or not, I assume this is where CVS’s policy comes from.
ETA: never mind, I see you already said Dextromethorphan can be abused. I’m with you, I think the pharmacist was mixed up. Carry on.
Who said it was the pharmacist? She should definitely know there are no restrictions on the sale of guaifenesin. The OP said “pharmacy employee”, and she was likely mistaken. Guaifenesin is not a drug of abuse.
The Robitussin DM (generic or otherwise) definitely is a drug of abuse, and in Florida at least the purchaser must be at least 18 and present ID if requested to do so.
Was it the actual pharmacist or just a pharm tech? I’m thinking that the computers automatically triggered them to ask for an ID based on the DXM and when you asked about it a pharm tech just guessed that it was because of the guaifenesin.
On preview I see that it was just a pharmacy employee, so that’s my guess. It was probably someone just guessing, but chances are that it’s the DXM that triggered the age verification.