USERS OF SUDAFED SHOULDN'T SUFFER BECAUSE OF METH

Tennessee has really gone overboard this time: You can no longer buy
Sudafed at a store that doesn't have a pharmacy. It's all part of the
grand, master plan to get methamphetamines off the streets.

The pseudoephedrine used as an ingredient in Sudafed and other such cold
pills is also a common ingredient in meth, which is now becoming a more
rampant problem in Tennessee.

Now, in order to purchase the drug, one must go to a pharmacy and fill out
a form containing name and address, in addition to signing for the drug.
One must also show identification before receiving the drug, and it
certainly can't be bought in bulk to prevent future sniffles.

After all, they don't know you. Maybe you're running a small meth operation
out of your dorm room.

Signing a name, showing ID and filling out a log make sense when dealing
with easily-abused controlled substances, such as narcotic painkillers. A
14-year-old kid with a headache shouldn't be able to get a bottle of
Percocets three times a year.

But Sudafed? It doesn't even require a prescription. All you have to do is
go up to the pharmacist and ask for it. Heck - he'll probably ask you if
you want regular or generic.

This is Tennessee, and allergies run rampant across the state, probably
more so than meth.

I've never been gung-ho about this War on Drugs, but this is getting
ridiculous. Making it a pain in the butt to get cold medicine isn't going
to have that great of an impact on our meth problem.

These people - the pioneers of meth - are willing to cook all kinds of
stuff that one should never ingest, many times at the risk of violent, yet,
cool explosion, in order to make an extra buck or two or million.

Then, they're willing to ingest the stuff, or at least pass it off to
friends and accomplices.

The state legislature seems to think this bill is actually going to have
some great impact on these meth masters and deter them from making the stuff.

Call me crazy, but don't criminals generally have pretty decent access to
things like fake IDs. A fake ID could come in really handy when someone
needs lots of cold medicine. Five fake IDs could come in even handier.

I shouldn't be saying such things. Soon, they'll start fingerprinting for
Sudafed. And let's not forget that Tennessee borders eight states. If my
income relied on something as commonplace as Sudafed, I wouldn't be above
crossing state lines to hit up a few gas stations and Wal-Marts.

The new legislation simply makes obtaining meth ingredients a little more
involved and a little more inconvenient. It also strips the rest of us of
just a little more of that freedom we all rant and rave about so much. When
the government has the power and the audacity to insist you sign your name
and address before buying cold medicine, things have gone too far.

It was more than disheartening to discover there are a few medical uses for
meth. I can see how narcolepsy can be a problem, but I think I'd choose
that over being a crank addict. Everyone has a few days when they feel fat,
but a dose of crystal isn't much better.

And if that Ritalin doesn't cure your attention deficit disorder, try some
glass to go with that homework.

Maybe obliterating these few medical uses would help. Maybe not. It
certainly wouldn't hurt to try that before tracking every person who has a
runny nose. Instead of targeting everyday Joes and Janes who just want that
sinus pressure to ease up a bit, find a better way of targeting the actual
meth users and manufacturers, and let the rest of us sneeze in peace.