SHOULD PRESCRIPTIONS BE REQUIRED TO BUY COLD MEDICINE?

"Oregon is in a state of emergency. Methamphetamine is destroying our state
and most of all, our own town. A prescription for pills with
pseudoephedrine is one part of a plan that can help turn Oregon around.

This is not the end of over-the-counter cold products altogether, just ones
with pseudoephedrine in them.

There are still many alternate products that work just as well as products
with pseudoephedrine.

Many large pharmaceutical companies have thought up alternatives to
pseudoephedrine, such as adding new lines of decongestants that use
phenylephrine instead.

Phenylephrine is a medicine that has been on the market for years in such
products as Alka-Seltzer cold medicine; it works similarly to
pseudoephedrine and is approved by the F.D.A.

Prescriptions should definitely be required for the purchase of pills with
pseudoephedrine.

This plan is a harsh answer to a harsh crisis. There are still OTC cold
products and many alternatives to pseudoephedrine, so there are still
medications that do not need a prescription.

For the sake of our town, our state, and also our country, we need to
embrace new legislation that aims to put meth labs out of business."

Drew Carson, junior, Roseburg High School

"I dislike the new bill that passed through Oregon legislation, which
restricts law-abiding citizens from buying certain kinds of medicine to
relieve them of their cold or flu symptoms.

The representatives who signed the bill had good intentions in mind, but
the new law will not have a large impact on meth use in Oregon.

Having the government controlling drugs with pseudoephedrine in them will
not deter meth addicts from using meth, but will just put a burden on the
general public.

I am confident in the belief that meth cooks will look elsewhere without
hesitation (i.e. California) to obtain the needed ingredient, Sudafed.

A better strategy to curb methamphetamine use would be to put troops on the
border to reduce the Mexican drug trade (a sizable portion of meth is
actually made in Mexico) and punishing meth dealers/users more severely."

Shay Miles, sophomore, Umpqua Valley Christian

"I do not agree that a prescription should be required to obtain
pseudoephedrine. Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant for allergies or the
common cold, but has also been abused to make the illicit drug meth.

I understand that with the prescription it's easier to crack down on the
abusers, but what a major requirement.

I think that it's safe to say that if an individual tries to purchase an
abundant amount of decongestants, that it would be rather obvious.

Not all people can afford the time or money to see a doctor, so that they
may receive a prescription to purchase the medicine.

People are now paying to consult a doctor and get a prescription for a drug
that they already know they need, isn't that why so many people already
avoid going to the doctor?

I think that it is a bit over the top to require prescriptions for
pseudoephedrine, because it's such a commonly needed medicine."

Holly Thompson, junior, Douglas High School

Truth of Youth, which appears in Monday's News-Review, is an opportunity
for teens to express their opinions.