Another Questionable War on Drugs
Methamphetamine (meth) abuse has become a concern of law enforcement agencies in recent years. In 2006, to stem the small scale production of methamphetamine by individuals, the federal government took the unprecedented action of forcing retail establishments to remove the common decongestant pseudoephedrine (a main ingredient in meth) from store shelves and restrict it to behind the counter. These regulations also required retail establishments to limit sales to small quantities and impose onerous recordkeeping on retailers. In addition, laws in 45 states imposed additional restrictions on the distribution and sale of pseudoephedrine.
Current methods to restrict sales are largely ineffective. Indeed, the average purity of methamphetamine increased 22% while price decreased 14% from 2006 to 2009, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. This suggests that pseudoephedrine is easily accessed and the supply of meth is perhaps larger than the demand. During this time, seizures have largely remained flat at 6,344 kilograms annually.
Unfortunately, restrictions make it difficult for patients to access effective decongestants when needed.
Is anything being done with all the information that is being collected (to prevent straw purchases of decongestants that are then turned into meth)?
Or, is it just sitting there, unused, unuseable and useless?
When I have a cold, there’s only one brand of decongestant that works for me, and there is no worse feeling that having to go on trial in front of a pharmacist when all you want to do is go home and sleep.
That being said, I had an interesting conversation with a pharmacist this weekend. There’s a new law that they have to ask ALL patients whether or not they have any questions about their medication (regardless of how long the patient has been taking it). This pharmacist said, “We lose business if we bug customers with questions. They’ll ask me if they have questions.” So far, he’s been practicing his own form of civil disobedience and keeping his customers happy.
The concern of law enforcement agencies mentioned here is of utmost importance, considering the various other affects that the war on drugs has.
For instance the violence associated with the war on drug trafficking has far more consequences for women than for men, ‘The number of women murdered is increasing in most of Central America and Mexico… many of these murders are committed with extreme violence – sexual savagery, torture, and mutilations – by perpetrators… acting with a high degree of impunity’ -Patsilí Toledo
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/toledo1/English