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One of the primary ways to denature is by adding methanol. The free market had nothing to do with methylating the alcohol used in hand sanitizer. The FDA does

One of the primary ways to denature is by adding methanol. The free market had nothing to do with methylating the alcohol used in hand sanitizer. The FDA does a lot of stuff that is great, but the institutional paranoia about someone, somewhere being able to recreationally consume alcohol isn't one of them.

ineedasername 6y ago
To be fair, if it wasn't denatured then it wouldn't just be someone, somewhere. It would be hoards of underage kids. Heck if I use the self-checkout lane at the supermarket to buy cough medicine the attendant has to come over and approve the purchase because that's abused by underage kids as well. That said, I won't claim to know precisely where the line should be drawn, but would say that in a sanitizing product shortage during a pandemic the line should be somewhere in the area of "hey how about we make it easier to make more sanitizing products right now"
- chrismcb 6y ago
  Would it? Would it be hoards of teenage kids? Perhaps we should try to figure out why hoards of teenage kids would drink cough syrup or hand sanitizer. Perhaps the problem is that we pay to much attention to underage kids. Maybe if there wasn't an age limit, underage drinking wouldn't be so taboo. And underage drinking would not be a problem and binge drinking might go down.
  - ineedasername 6y ago
    I agree with everything you said, but in our society as it is right now, I still believe it would be hoards of teenage kids. Maybe it's a local problem, but there are stores near me that put cough medicine behind the counter for this reason. So you're right, there are underlying dynamics that contribute to this behavior, but the behavior does exist.
    - rtisdale 6y ago
      That's likely less to do with alcohol and more to do with the fact that it's pretty easy to "make" other psychoactive substances using it. In particular, you can spin robitussin rapidly to separate the dextromethorphan. https://erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/ https://erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/
- xkcd-sucks 6y ago
  Unrealistic, teenagers can still get trashed on vanilla extract from the grocery store but very few do
  - ineedasername 6y ago
    Maybe this reflects a lot more on the environment & social circle I grew up in? In that context though: I think if the alcoholic nature of extracts were more widely known to teenagers, more would take advantage. But it also doesn't come in a convenient "party" format. If you could walk into Walmart, buy a half-gallon of sanitizer for $10 (well, pre-covid you could get those sizes for cheap, now not so much) and mix it with a gallon of fruit punch, then you've basically got the ingredients for a typical small 4-8 person Everclear & Fruitpunch highschool basement party without the hassle of tracking down that >= 21 friend.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
tptacek 6y ago
Downthread someone has managed to cite the FDA specifically telling manufacturers not to include methanol.

ineedasername 6y ago

To be fair, if it wasn't denatured then it wouldn't just be someone, somewhere. It would be hoards of underage kids. Heck if I use the self-checkout lane at the supermarket to buy cough medicine the attendant has to come over and approve the purchase because that's abused by underage kids as well. That said, I won't claim to know precisely where the line should be drawn, but would say that in a sanitizing product shortage during a pandemic the line should be somewhere in the area of "hey how about we make it easier to make more sanitizing products right now"

chrismcb 6y ago
Would it? Would it be hoards of teenage kids? Perhaps we should try to figure out why hoards of teenage kids would drink cough syrup or hand sanitizer. Perhaps the problem is that we pay to much attention to underage kids. Maybe if there wasn't an age limit, underage drinking wouldn't be so taboo. And underage drinking would not be a problem and binge drinking might go down.
- ineedasername 6y ago
  I agree with everything you said, but in our society as it is right now, I still believe it would be hoards of teenage kids. Maybe it's a local problem, but there are stores near me that put cough medicine behind the counter for this reason. So you're right, there are underlying dynamics that contribute to this behavior, but the behavior does exist.
  - rtisdale 6y ago
    That's likely less to do with alcohol and more to do with the fact that it's pretty easy to "make" other psychoactive substances using it. In particular, you can spin robitussin rapidly to separate the dextromethorphan. https://erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/ https://erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/
xkcd-sucks 6y ago
Unrealistic, teenagers can still get trashed on vanilla extract from the grocery store but very few do
- ineedasername 6y ago
  Maybe this reflects a lot more on the environment & social circle I grew up in? In that context though: I think if the alcoholic nature of extracts were more widely known to teenagers, more would take advantage. But it also doesn't come in a convenient "party" format. If you could walk into Walmart, buy a half-gallon of sanitizer for $10 (well, pre-covid you could get those sizes for cheap, now not so much) and mix it with a gallon of fruit punch, then you've basically got the ingredients for a typical small 4-8 person Everclear & Fruitpunch highschool basement party without the hassle of tracking down that >= 21 friend.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

tptacek 6y ago

Downthread someone has managed to cite the FDA specifically telling manufacturers not to include methanol.