Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Pseudoephedrine is a fantastic decongestant. … But starting in 2006, it disappeared from OTC cold/flu medications and got moved behind pharmacy counters. You could no longer buy it without showing ID, you could only buy limited amounts, and if you bought ‘too much’ (by visiting different pharmacies) or ‘too often,’ the police might just pay you a visit. Pseudoephedrine was, at one time, commonly used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. By making it difficult to get pseudoephedrine, drug warrior logic ran, the difficulty of cooking meth — and the price of the final product — could be driven up and its availability severely curtailed. … the market cap of Kimberly-Clark (maker of Kleenex brand facial tissues) has more than doubled from then to now. As for methamphetamine, its use has also more than doubled, as have methamphetamine overdose fatalities, since the pseudoephedrine pseudo-ban.” (09/14/23)