Meth labs hit close to home

This past spring, the methamphetamine problem started to affect me personally. For those of you not familar with the Meth problem (all 2 of ya) and how it relates to Claratin, here's a quick tutorial.

In March, a new federal law was passed that places restrictions on purchases of products containing pseudoephedrine, which is the magical ingredient that makes my head feel a whole lot better when allergies are in the mood to torment me. It is now illegal to purchase more than 7.5 grams of pseudoephedrine in a 30 day period through the mail, and you can only buy one 10-count box of Claratin-D per day at any given store. (Similar restrictions are in place for any over-the-counter medicine which contains pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed.) And the Internet isn't the answer, either. Drugstore.com is required by federal regulations to report suspicious purchases to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The reason for the new regulations? Pseudoephedrine is one of the ingredients for making methamphetamine, so the government is trying to stop these labs from churning out this deadly drug to millions. Apparently, the government figures making the lives of tens of millions of allergy sufferers more difficult (and more expensive) is the way to go to crack down on meth labs.

Bullshit.

It's annoyed me for a while, but the other day, with the temperature hovering around 100 degrees in Philadelphia, I headed to CVS to purchase another box of Claratin-D while nursing an allergy induced sinus headache.

Going back to the pharmacy, I immediately became pissed when the smug cashier said, "I need to see some I.D." Some people just love to tell you can't have something. Whatever. So now, whenever I buy a box of Claratin, I have to sign some stupid log book that no one probably checks anyway.

So I'm supposed to believe that THIS is the answer to the meth problem? Inconveniencing me, and taking more money out of my pocket?

Again, it's bullshit.

First, a bit more on meth labs. Check out what meth can do to people. ...


Beautiful, huh?

What's worse, not only are the junkies like the one above a drain on society in so many ways, but the meth labs pose dangers to others as well. Motels, mobile homes (there's a surprise) and apartments are often converted to meth labs - in bathtubs or kitchens. I don't know the ABCs of making meth, nor do I ever want to, but one thing is certain - these labs can and often do blow sky high. Take a look. ...

Your typical garden variety apartment building, with a meth lab cookin' inside, until it fall down and go boom. ...

It's gonna need a paint job and a shitload of screen doors.

So, as you can see, it's a pretty big problem, and I applaud the DEA for combating what I'm sure is an uphill battle. But, limiting me to one box of Claratin-D per day probably isn't going to solve much. In fact, it's like putting a Band-Aid on an amputation.

You might ask yourself, why am I bitching about only being able to buy one box per day? Glad you asked.

Originally, like many over-the-counter drugs (if you can still call Claratin that), Claratin-D began as a prescription. When it was a prescription, I paid my copay and got 30 pills, which lasted me anywhere from a month to two months. I don't take it every day; just when I feel the nasty effects of allergies, which I have year 'round.

Then, the makers of Claratin, Schering-Plough, decided to cash in on their admittedly great invention by taking Claratin and Claratin-D over the counter. Awesome, I thought - no more copays, and I might even be able to save some dough when it goes on sale.

And that was cool, for a while. If it went on sale, I stocked up a bit to save some money. The 15-count boxes (which are no longer offered for sale, so far as I know), were around $20-22, so if it went on sale, I bought a few extra boxes to save some money. It sucked somewhat, because SP was getting richer off of my allergies, but whatever - the stuff flat-out works.

Then, the 15-count box went away. So, then I had to go the more expensive option - buying 10 count boxes. But, there were still sales, so I still had a chance to save. Now, one box per day, and often I can only get two five-count boxes, because drug stores often don't have the 10s.

So, I'm takin' a prison pounding because of junkies.

So, fat-fuck Rush Limbaugh can score thousands of Oxycotin with no consequences, claiming prejudice because of his political views.

So, again, fat-fuck Rush can again skit the law by bringin' home Viagra, without a legal prescription, for his limp johnson from the Dominican Republic, with again, no consequences. His lame comeback? He bought them in the Clinton Library gift shop. Oh, the bloated intolerant one is so pithy!

So, I can go out and buy a case of beer and drive a car, possibly killing myself or other people, and I can get as much beer as I want down the street at the beer distributor, but I can't buy a month's supply of Clarain-D?

So, I can go buy a handgun (on the spot in many states), which is a little more lethal than my Claratin-D, but I have to sign a log book to get allergy medication?

I can buy as many cartons of cigarettes I want, and they are a known carcinogen, but not two boxes of Claratin?

So, the government isn't even clever enough to catch people who enter the country and who want to only learn how to fly planes not land them, but I can't buy a month's supply of Claratin-D?

I live in the museum district of Philadelphia, and I could walk in any 10-block direction, if I were so inclined, and could almost definitely come back with just about any drug I wanted, in significant quantity, and if I had enough cash. But, my local drugstore just a few blocks away will sell me only one box of Claratin-D per day, at inflated prices, no less.

What's wrong with this picture?