Vent about limits on buying Sudafed

[disneysteve]

Do any of you have suggestions or laws that you think would make a difference?

I think we need to have a national database for medication purchases. I originally proposed this for prescription controlled drugs like pain pills and nerve pills but perhaps something like pseudoephedrine could be added.

As things are right now, a patient can go to Dr. A and get a month's worth of Percocet and fill the Rx at Pharmacy A. Then go to Dr. B and get another prescription and fill it a Pharmacy B. And Dr. C and Dr. D and so on. As long as the patient is careful, he could get hundreds and hundreds of pills in a few days and nobody would have any way of knowing. Of course, those pills get abused, sold on the street, etc. If, however, pharmacies all had access to a central database, the CVS pharmacist would know right away that the patient had just picked up a prescription at the Walgreens down the block.

So do the same with Sudafed. Let me buy a month's worth at once, but log that purchase in a meaningful, accessible database so that I can't walk next door and buy another month's worth.

Also, adjust the limits to allow for buying different forms of med, like for children and adults.

 

[Tiffer]

As logical as this statement sounds at first, I have mixed feelings due to something I saw on one of the tv news talk shows last week. There was someone from the Libertarian party on and the topic was cell phone usage while driving. His argument was that we shouldn't have laws banning drivers from talking on the phone because many people can drive just fine while talking. We should only punish the ones who cause a problem. If someone gets in an accident because they were on the phone, just ban that person from using a cell phone. That means, however, that we should wait until after someone gets in a wreck and maybe injures or kills innocent people before acting. I have a problem with that theory.

Regarding the drug topic, same problem. If some people are buying/stealing OTC meds to make meth, how do we prevent that without inconveniencing everyone? I don't know. I just don't like how they are currently trying to do it.

I don't have an answer. It just seems too often we take the "band aid on a bullet wound" approach. As I posted above, I would like to see greater efforts to attack drugs and drug dealers on a local level and greater steps to sieze the drugs coming into our country on a federal level.


I disagree with the cell phone law, but this reasoning seems silly.

So many people still use cell phones, including cops! I see it all the time. While I do think cell phones distract people from driving, so do many other things. Like adjusting the radio, putting on lipstick, screaming children, drinking coffee, etc. Further, talking on the cell phone is not banned, only a hand held device is banned. People are just as distracted by the conversation itself, albeit "hands free".

 

[peachgirl]

Yet, all weekend long, there were more police officers givng seat belt tickets than reasonably necessary.

Completely off topic, but I got stopped this past weekend because the cop "thought" I wasn't wearing my seat belt. I was.

My first thought was...ummmmm, do you really have nothing better to do with your time? Then I remembered they were having a similar campaign and most likely the department has a quota on stops for the month. It's getting near the end of the month and this cop probably hadn't made his yet. Too bad I couldn't help him out.

 

[mrsltg]

Very well said!!!

I am curious... all of the people that think this law is "stupid" and "does not address the problem" and such......

Do any of you have suggestions or laws that you think would make a difference?

Absolutely!!!! Remove laws against victimless 'crimes'. People will not suddenly become heroin abusers because there is no law against it. If you're going to do drugs, you're going to do them regardless. It's already illegal - has that stopped the problem? Disband the entire DEA and shift the agents to a worthwhile job - ie, border enforcement! Stop throwing good money after bad and stop risking the lives of countless officers pursuing people for pot possession instead of a real crime. Stop propping up corrupt governments by artificially raising prices on opium, cocaine, marijuana, etc.

Addressing the final sentence in the quoted post - LAWS are not always necessary - in fact, they are rarely the answer for policing behavior.

There is so much more to say, but as this 'war' has been going on for so long and catchy slogans like 'just say no' seem to garner so much press I'm not surprised that people feel the only way to rid the US of the drug problem is through laws, laws, and more laws. At some point we need to step back and look at how much this has cost the US in lives and $$$$ vs. where we are now.

DisneySteve - I am a libertarian - so no, I don't see a need to leglislate cell phone use. Mostly because it's already against the law. It may not specifically say "cell phone," but there is legislation against 'distracted driving,' meaning eating, playing with the radio, yelling at your kids, etc. It's all against the law if you cause an accident because of it.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

I think we need to have a national database for medication purchases. I originally proposed this for prescription controlled drugs like pain pills and nerve pills but perhaps something like pseudoephedrine could be added.

As things are right now, a patient can go to Dr. A and get a month's worth of Percocet and fill the Rx at Pharmacy A. Then go to Dr. B and get another prescription and fill it a Pharmacy B. And Dr. C and Dr. D and so on. As long as the patient is careful, he could get hundreds and hundreds of pills in a few days and nobody would have any way of knowing. Of course, those pills get abused, sold on the street, etc. If, however, pharmacies all had access to a central database, the CVS pharmacist would know right away that the patient had just picked up a prescription at the Walgreens down the block.

So do the same with Sudafed. Let me buy a month's worth at once, but log that purchase in a meaningful, accessible database so that I can't walk next door and buy another month's worth.

Also, adjust the limits to allow for buying different forms of med, like for children and adults.

Your ideas are good ones, but the problem is the cost (to each retail establishment and the government) would be huge. People that hop from pharmacy to pharmacy do get noticed, (at least in our area), but it takes time. It's really easy to spot patterns if you are looking for them.

 

[disneysteve]

Remove laws against victimless 'crimes'.

Are you suggesting that drug abuse is victimless? I think an awful lot of people would disagree with you on that.

One thing I always say, which goes along with what you've said, is that you can't legislate away stupidity. People will continue to do stupid, irresponsible things no matter how many laws you pass. I don't talk on the cell phone while driving because it is incredibly dangerous. I always wear my seatbelt and don't abuse drugs because I value my life.

That said, however, I think there are some people who do stop certain actions or behaviors when they become illegal because it makes them stop and think and realize the dangers involved. Plus they don't want to get arrested or fined. I think more people would be tempted to try drugs if they were legal. So I do think the laws can do some good.

 

[chell]

Steve--is that what happened to Zyrtec? I used it one year it was fabulous and then last year, it did NOTHING for me at all. I ended up with OTC benadryl.

You may need to do what my doctor just had me do. Take 2 -4 weeks off of Zyrtec by switching to another allergy medicine. When you go back to it hopefully it will once again work as good as it did the first time. After you have used it so long your body becomes used to it and it isn't as effective as it once was. I just went through the same thing with Allegra.