Anti Federalist
07-19-2010, 12:03 AM
Prescriptions for over the counter drugs
Updated: Jul 17, 2010 11:26 AM EST
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=12826094
Indianapolis - Over-the-counter cold medicines with an ingredient used to make Meth may soon only be available by prescription in Indiana.
"When you do it you understand how addictive it is, I mean it is not like any other drug," explained a meth user.
Meth is cheap, readily available and an still a growing scourge on society.
It is available due in part because the main ingredients can be bought over the counter
With some effort pharmacy's keep all pseudoephedrine products behind the counter and you have to show identification and sign a form. These products may soon only be available by prescription.
"It is really a shame because for a Advil cold and sinus or ibuprofen cold and sinus or any kind of sudafed if you have a cold it works pretty good to fight the symptoms until you get over the cold so you don't have to go see the doctor," said Luann Cowan-Robertson of Cowan Drugs.
The meth makers do something called smurfing, a slang term that they have come up, where people are sent from chain to chain to buy their maximum allowance by law. Those transactions are monitored electronically but in small towns the records of who purchases the drugs are done on paper.
Cowan-Robertson says, "We know everybody that walks through the door. Where maybe the bigger (stores) that carry 10-12-15 packets they would have to come here to get two and go somewhere else."
The lure of the drug is two fold one it is cheap, "Go spend 80 bucks on a gram of coke and it is gone in a couple of hours, go spend 80 bucks on Meth you are high for a week."
And another it, according to Groves last a long time, "It is a very long high it is a speed it is like doing a bunch of cocaine at once."
A General assembly study committee is meeting next week to decide if a prescription should be needed for these type of drugs.
If the it passes out of committee the final say will be with the full General Assembly during the next session.
Updated: Jul 17, 2010 11:26 AM EST
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=12826094
Indianapolis - Over-the-counter cold medicines with an ingredient used to make Meth may soon only be available by prescription in Indiana.
"When you do it you understand how addictive it is, I mean it is not like any other drug," explained a meth user.
Meth is cheap, readily available and an still a growing scourge on society.
It is available due in part because the main ingredients can be bought over the counter
With some effort pharmacy's keep all pseudoephedrine products behind the counter and you have to show identification and sign a form. These products may soon only be available by prescription.
"It is really a shame because for a Advil cold and sinus or ibuprofen cold and sinus or any kind of sudafed if you have a cold it works pretty good to fight the symptoms until you get over the cold so you don't have to go see the doctor," said Luann Cowan-Robertson of Cowan Drugs.
The meth makers do something called smurfing, a slang term that they have come up, where people are sent from chain to chain to buy their maximum allowance by law. Those transactions are monitored electronically but in small towns the records of who purchases the drugs are done on paper.
Cowan-Robertson says, "We know everybody that walks through the door. Where maybe the bigger (stores) that carry 10-12-15 packets they would have to come here to get two and go somewhere else."
The lure of the drug is two fold one it is cheap, "Go spend 80 bucks on a gram of coke and it is gone in a couple of hours, go spend 80 bucks on Meth you are high for a week."
And another it, according to Groves last a long time, "It is a very long high it is a speed it is like doing a bunch of cocaine at once."
A General assembly study committee is meeting next week to decide if a prescription should be needed for these type of drugs.
If the it passes out of committee the final say will be with the full General Assembly during the next session.