I keep meaning to register my disgust on this subject to the Internet: They're making it hard for me to buy Sudafed. Its active ingredient, pseudoephedrine, is one of the few substances that can decongest my head without making me feel like I just took a tranq dart to the aorta. Unfortunately, because they've already outlawed real ephedredrine (see my bitching about that) because of its 'dangers,' they are now pointing their anti-drug propaganda at the pseudo stuff.
Why? Cuz people use this stuff to make methamphetamine. Well, woopee-whoop. I had been under the impression that one of the upsides of pseduoephedrine was that you couldn't use it to make meth, but apparently they figured out how to do this. In fact, if you look for info on the internet now, it's difficult to find any mention of regular ephedrine in the meth-making process, you will see mostly references to the pseudo stuff. It's almost as if somebody has gone through an done a universal find-and-replace across the web.
So, on the one hand, I'm against meth. I guess. I don't really care, people are gonna get crazy on one thing or another. But it annoys me that I'm suffering because other people are stupid.
Nowadays at most drugstores, they keep it pseudoephedrine behind the counter, and you have to show ID and fill out some governmental watchlist to get it. I'm surprised I wasn't fingerprinted. You may not have noticed this, even if you're as familiar with sudafed (or its many generic substitutes). I sure didn't. A few months ago I bought some generic sudafed and proceeded to take the tablets during a cold. Even though the new laws were effect, I bought it right off the shelf and didn't have to sign or anything. I figured my cold must have been particularly severe because the pills didn't clear out my head much. That's about the time I realized the stuff I bought wasn't pseudoephedrine. It was fake.
This stuff had the same name but had a "PE" at the end of it. "PE" stands for phenylephrine, the active ingredient.
The Good News: You Can't Make this Stuff into Meth
The Bad News: It Doesn't Work
Studies are showing the PE is about as effective as huffing fondue for decongesting nasal passages. How this thing got through the FDA astounds me. Okay, it's not dangerous, it's near-impossible to OD on it, no side effects … Approved! But it don't work, dagnabbit!
The final indignity came when I looked in the package of Fake Sudafed and saw that they couldn't even be bothered to fill up all the little bubbles with pills. So you get 36 tabs instead of 48. I guess it doesn't really matter since it doesn't work anyway! But I'm sure it'll stop meth production in the US cold. Oh happy day.
