6 ms·

Yeah, I was going to say that, they did changed the nome (sort of) in the US and you can still get the real stuff, you just have to submit to all sorts of priva

Yeah, I was going to say that, they did changed the nome (sort of) in the US and you can still get the real stuff, you just have to submit to all sorts of privacy breaches and uncomfortable interactions.

finnh 8y ago
"SudoGest!" which of course reads to me like "$ sudo gest" and now i'm wondering what "gest" is and why it needs su. Seriously though just a couple days of this last week headed off a sinus infection so i didn't need antibiotics. Win!
tptacek 8y ago
Going to the counter and asking for a pack of sudafed and showing ID is an uncomfortable interaction? Do you never buy liquor?
- nialo 8y ago
  I have walked out of pharmacies without buying Sudafed that I would have wanted because the "ask for a pack of Sudafed" step was too uncomfortable. Buying liquor is easier because I don't have to say words to explain what I want. Edited to add: I'm not particularly up in arms about needing ID, and I feel like buying Sudafed got easier somehow recently, but this seemed like a place where I could help explain what sorts of things can be uncomfortable/difficult for some people.
- Zak 8y ago
  I am almost never asked for ID when I buy liquor. Furthermore the liquor store does not record my ID after the purchase.
  - tptacek 8y ago
    What is the concern about there being a record of your nasal congestion? There's a much firmer record of every sensitive prescription you've ever been given.
    - Zak 8y ago
      Probably the most rational, objective concern would be mistakenly exceeding a legal limit and being prosecuted. The limit (9g in a month) is high for an individual, but could be a real risk for someone who does most of the shopping for a large family. This kind of thing is not an imagined risk, as it has happened in reality: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/meth-laws-oregons-prescription-cold-medicine_n_1290918.html https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/meth-laws-oregons-... Recent backlash against tech companies tracking users suggests that in general, people do not like being tracked. People may even prefer less effective OTC medications to prescriptions on the basis of anonymity. This may or may not be based on a rational concern about a more concrete negative outcome.
      - tptacek 8y ago
        I thought it was interesting that people might have been prosecuted for accidentally exceeding the pseudoephedrine purchase limits, so I tracked down the case that the article mentions and pulled it from PACER, both the complaint and the sentencing memorandum. This may be an "exception that proves the rule", since William Fousse, the guy who got prosecuted, was addicted to pseudoephedrine and was buying large amounts of it, so large that the investigating officers found it implausible that he'd be personally consuming it (it turns out, he was; he was doing a see-saw thing where he'd get drunk and then use the pseudoephedrine to come up from it to get work done). He was buying from multiple pharmacies, apparently to avoid the limit. This is not a case that makes me alarmed for my own safety when going to buy a 40-pack of sudafed, though I'm receptive to the argument that prosecution for an actual sudafed addiction was not the intent of the law and should not have been prosecuted in the first place.
        Zak 8y ago
        I don't think anybody should be prosecuted for any self-administration of any substance provided there was no harm or direct, undue risk of harm to others (e.g. DUI). That's a bit of a tangent though. Instead, let's take a look at scenarios where you might buy over 9000 mg in a month. The maximum recommended dose is 50mg every 8 hours, so 3 times a day. 9000/50/3 = 60 person-days. If it's allergy season and they're all taking the maximum dose, a family of four could hit the limit in 15 days. Inefficient distribution (making sure there's always some in both of the cars, each kid's backpack, at each adult's work) makes it even easier to hit the limit. The largest size normally available is 96x25 mg. Four of those is 9600 mg. Just trying to get a box for each family member makes you a criminal.

finnh 8y ago

"SudoGest!" which of course reads to me like "$ sudo gest" and now i'm wondering what "gest" is and why it needs su. Seriously though just a couple days of this last week headed off a sinus infection so i didn't need antibiotics. Win!

tptacek 8y ago

Going to the counter and asking for a pack of sudafed and showing ID is an uncomfortable interaction? Do you never buy liquor?

nialo 8y ago
I have walked out of pharmacies without buying Sudafed that I would have wanted because the "ask for a pack of Sudafed" step was too uncomfortable. Buying liquor is easier because I don't have to say words to explain what I want. Edited to add: I'm not particularly up in arms about needing ID, and I feel like buying Sudafed got easier somehow recently, but this seemed like a place where I could help explain what sorts of things can be uncomfortable/difficult for some people.
Zak 8y ago
I am almost never asked for ID when I buy liquor. Furthermore the liquor store does not record my ID after the purchase.
- tptacek 8y ago
  What is the concern about there being a record of your nasal congestion? There's a much firmer record of every sensitive prescription you've ever been given.
  - Zak 8y ago
    Probably the most rational, objective concern would be mistakenly exceeding a legal limit and being prosecuted. The limit (9g in a month) is high for an individual, but could be a real risk for someone who does most of the shopping for a large family. This kind of thing is not an imagined risk, as it has happened in reality: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/meth-laws-oregons-prescription-cold-medicine_n_1290918.html https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/meth-laws-oregons-... Recent backlash against tech companies tracking users suggests that in general, people do not like being tracked. People may even prefer less effective OTC medications to prescriptions on the basis of anonymity. This may or may not be based on a rational concern about a more concrete negative outcome.
    - tptacek 8y ago
      I thought it was interesting that people might have been prosecuted for accidentally exceeding the pseudoephedrine purchase limits, so I tracked down the case that the article mentions and pulled it from PACER, both the complaint and the sentencing memorandum. This may be an "exception that proves the rule", since William Fousse, the guy who got prosecuted, was addicted to pseudoephedrine and was buying large amounts of it, so large that the investigating officers found it implausible that he'd be personally consuming it (it turns out, he was; he was doing a see-saw thing where he'd get drunk and then use the pseudoephedrine to come up from it to get work done). He was buying from multiple pharmacies, apparently to avoid the limit. This is not a case that makes me alarmed for my own safety when going to buy a 40-pack of sudafed, though I'm receptive to the argument that prosecution for an actual sudafed addiction was not the intent of the law and should not have been prosecuted in the first place.
      - Zak 8y ago
        I don't think anybody should be prosecuted for any self-administration of any substance provided there was no harm or direct, undue risk of harm to others (e.g. DUI). That's a bit of a tangent though. Instead, let's take a look at scenarios where you might buy over 9000 mg in a month. The maximum recommended dose is 50mg every 8 hours, so 3 times a day. 9000/50/3 = 60 person-days. If it's allergy season and they're all taking the maximum dose, a family of four could hit the limit in 15 days. Inefficient distribution (making sure there's always some in both of the cars, each kid's backpack, at each adult's work) makes it even easier to hit the limit. The largest size normally available is 96x25 mg. Four of those is 9600 mg. Just trying to get a box for each family member makes you a criminal.