7 ms·

The lack of availability of proper pseudoephedrine in USA led to situation where there are papers describing how to turn methamphetamine into pseudoephedrine, n

by p_l 5y ago

The lack of availability of proper pseudoephedrine in USA led to situation where there are papers describing how to turn methamphetamine into pseudoephedrine, not the other way around. With explanation in abstract that its easier to buy meth than pseudoephedrine.

dsp 5y ago
lol https://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume19/v19i3/Pseudoephedrine.pdf https://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume19/v19i3/Pse...
- cjhveal 5y ago
  Authored by O. Hai, and I. B. Hakkenshit
- BatmansMom 5y ago
  "While N-methylamphetamine itself is a powerful decongestant, it is less desirable in a medical setting because of its severe side effects and addictive properties... Other side effects may include violent urges or, similarly, the urge to be successful in business or finance."
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- solveit 5y ago
  Thank you for making my day.
techsupporter 5y ago
> With explanation in abstract that its easier to buy meth than pseudoephedrine. People may laugh at this, as they should since it is an absurd situation, but this isn't entirely wrong. Neither my wife or I drive and during the pandemic she gave up her license after getting an appointment at the DOL was difficult. Both of us carry US passport cards as our ID. This has resulted in several situations where we've been turned down for purchasing restricted items like alcohol or drugs containing pseudoephedrine, particularly the latter, because a passport card can't be scanned by the usual point of sale systems. There are a couple of places in Seattle that are happy to accept a passport card but even at them it's sometimes been dependent on who is working the counter that day.
- ericbarrett 5y ago
  Why not get a non-motorist ID card? Every US state has these; here's Washington's: https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/gettingidcard.html https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/gettingidcard.html
  - michaelmcdonald 5y ago
    I believe this is the key element: > she gave up her license after getting an appointment at the DOL was difficult. I'm not sure what DOL is a reference to; however I now many individuals struggled to get appointments at the Secretary of State (SoS) and that is also where one (at least where I live) would need to get a non-motorist ID. Same amount of frustration / time spent to get a non-motorist ID as it would be to renew your driver license.
    - zacherates 5y ago
      DOL = Washington Department of Licensing: https://www.dol.wa.gov/ https://www.dol.wa.gov/
    - fragmede 5y ago
      DOL ~= DMV = RMV
      - cestith 5y ago
        In Illinois, it's the Secretary of State's Driver Services office. In Texas, it's the Department of Public Safety, and your plates may be in one building/location and your driver's license/state ID in another part of town. Maybe the most honest state is Missouri, where plates, stickers for them, and your driver's license are all handled by the state's Department of Revenue.
  - nostrebored 5y ago
    But why get one? A passport/passport card is a _better_ ID document in almost every way. State non-motorist IDs should really cease to exist and we should increase access to passport cards
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
arkades 5y ago
Pseudoephedrine is still available -behind the counter-. You literally just have to ask the pharmacist for it. Let’s not turn grad students having a laugh into an actual statement on public policy.
- ibejoeb 5y ago
  You don't just ask the pharmacist for it. You have to produce an acceptable form of identification that can be used to record the transaction in the universal database. It's unavailable to anyone who doesn't have one of those.
  - leetbulb 5y ago
    If you don't have any form of identification, getting pseudoephedrine from a pharmacy is probably not too high on your to-do list.
    - ibejoeb 5y ago
      I suspect you're wrong. How many people do you think would prefer not having medication to having medication?
      - radicality 5y ago
        He’s definitely wrong. Sometime last year I had a cold and I know pseudoephedrine helps me. I ran out and wanted to buy some at the local cvs. Now, I’m not a US citizen but I’ve been here a few years already and am a permanent resident. I do not have a US state ID or a US driving license, and in my many years it has _never_ been a problem. Everyone was always happy with my green card as my ID - bars, domestic flights, international flights back to USA, bank account openings etc. But not for purchasing pseudoephedrine at CVS… I literally stood there with my green card and my European passport and was begging the cvs clerk to sell it to me, but the told me it’s impossible, system doesn’t accept those IDs (and they tried, even showed me their computer screen). And so I had to leave empty handed and with a runny nose, and came back later with an American friend to buy it…
reincarnate0x14 5y ago
It would be interesting to see if there were any reliable stats on how many, if any, people were caught by the ID check laws trying to manufacture from pseudoephedrine, because even at the height of the meth panic that engendered the laws something like 95% of pseudoephedrine outside of a handful of high-risk areas was very obviously not being used for any illegal purposes.
- LorenPechtel 5y ago
  I doubt it caught people. That wasn't the purpose. Rather, it deterred them from buying up a bunch of it and thus got rid of the meth labs. And I think that's a good thing--while I am solidly on the side of drug legalization I don't want amateurs making hazmat sites all over the place.
cuteboy19 5y ago
Are chemistry papers describing the synthesis of methamphetamine illegal?
- matthewmacleod 5y ago
  No.
  - quickthrower2 5y ago
    1st Amendment?
stjohnswarts 5y ago
I don't about anywhere else but the only thing you have to do is walk up to the pharmacist and show an ID. I couldn't care less. I'm buying like a couple of weeks worth. I've had the same process in two different states, and not sure why it's a big deal? We can't have nice things because meth cooks were coming with shopping bags and stealing it all.
deltarholamda 5y ago
The US would elect a baby-eating space alien from Tau Ceti VI as president if Zbleqq'takkx's primary platform plank was "make it so you can buy real Sudafed without a lot of hassle and faff."
- astrange 5y ago
  Yeah, US voters do seem to like electing presidents for things only Congress has the power to do. Of course, presidents also like proposing things they can't do. Presidents' main differences are on foreign policy which is the one thing nobody asks them about.
ZephyrOhm 5y ago
Is it also possible to buy meth and turn it into ephedrine? That would be phenomenal
quickthrower2 5y ago
The cartels end up selling $200 bottles of cough medicine and making more money that way. Then they lobby to keep it illegal.

by p_l 5y ago

dsp 5y ago

lol https://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume19/v19i3/Pseudoephedrine.pdf https://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume19/v19i3/Pse...

cjhveal 5y ago
Authored by O. Hai, and I. B. Hakkenshit
BatmansMom 5y ago
"While N-methylamphetamine itself is a powerful decongestant, it is less desirable in a medical setting because of its severe side effects and addictive properties... Other side effects may include violent urges or, similarly, the urge to be successful in business or finance."
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
solveit 5y ago
Thank you for making my day.

techsupporter 5y ago

> With explanation in abstract that its easier to buy meth than pseudoephedrine. People may laugh at this, as they should since it is an absurd situation, but this isn't entirely wrong. Neither my wife or I drive and during the pandemic she gave up her license after getting an appointment at the DOL was difficult. Both of us carry US passport cards as our ID. This has resulted in several situations where we've been turned down for purchasing restricted items like alcohol or drugs containing pseudoephedrine, particularly the latter, because a passport card can't be scanned by the usual point of sale systems. There are a couple of places in Seattle that are happy to accept a passport card but even at them it's sometimes been dependent on who is working the counter that day.

ericbarrett 5y ago
Why not get a non-motorist ID card? Every US state has these; here's Washington's: https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/gettingidcard.html https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/gettingidcard.html
- michaelmcdonald 5y ago
  I believe this is the key element: > she gave up her license after getting an appointment at the DOL was difficult. I'm not sure what DOL is a reference to; however I now many individuals struggled to get appointments at the Secretary of State (SoS) and that is also where one (at least where I live) would need to get a non-motorist ID. Same amount of frustration / time spent to get a non-motorist ID as it would be to renew your driver license.
  - zacherates 5y ago
    DOL = Washington Department of Licensing: https://www.dol.wa.gov/ https://www.dol.wa.gov/
  - fragmede 5y ago
    DOL ~= DMV = RMV
    - cestith 5y ago
      In Illinois, it's the Secretary of State's Driver Services office. In Texas, it's the Department of Public Safety, and your plates may be in one building/location and your driver's license/state ID in another part of town. Maybe the most honest state is Missouri, where plates, stickers for them, and your driver's license are all handled by the state's Department of Revenue.
- nostrebored 5y ago
  But why get one? A passport/passport card is a _better_ ID document in almost every way. State non-motorist IDs should really cease to exist and we should increase access to passport cards

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

arkades 5y ago

Pseudoephedrine is still available -behind the counter-. You literally just have to ask the pharmacist for it. Let’s not turn grad students having a laugh into an actual statement on public policy.

ibejoeb 5y ago
You don't just ask the pharmacist for it. You have to produce an acceptable form of identification that can be used to record the transaction in the universal database. It's unavailable to anyone who doesn't have one of those.
- leetbulb 5y ago
  If you don't have any form of identification, getting pseudoephedrine from a pharmacy is probably not too high on your to-do list.
  - ibejoeb 5y ago
    I suspect you're wrong. How many people do you think would prefer not having medication to having medication?
    - radicality 5y ago
      He’s definitely wrong. Sometime last year I had a cold and I know pseudoephedrine helps me. I ran out and wanted to buy some at the local cvs. Now, I’m not a US citizen but I’ve been here a few years already and am a permanent resident. I do not have a US state ID or a US driving license, and in my many years it has _never_ been a problem. Everyone was always happy with my green card as my ID - bars, domestic flights, international flights back to USA, bank account openings etc. But not for purchasing pseudoephedrine at CVS… I literally stood there with my green card and my European passport and was begging the cvs clerk to sell it to me, but the told me it’s impossible, system doesn’t accept those IDs (and they tried, even showed me their computer screen). And so I had to leave empty handed and with a runny nose, and came back later with an American friend to buy it…

reincarnate0x14 5y ago

It would be interesting to see if there were any reliable stats on how many, if any, people were caught by the ID check laws trying to manufacture from pseudoephedrine, because even at the height of the meth panic that engendered the laws something like 95% of pseudoephedrine outside of a handful of high-risk areas was very obviously not being used for any illegal purposes.

LorenPechtel 5y ago
I doubt it caught people. That wasn't the purpose. Rather, it deterred them from buying up a bunch of it and thus got rid of the meth labs. And I think that's a good thing--while I am solidly on the side of drug legalization I don't want amateurs making hazmat sites all over the place.

cuteboy19 5y ago

Are chemistry papers describing the synthesis of methamphetamine illegal?

matthewmacleod 5y ago
No.
- quickthrower2 5y ago
  1st Amendment?

stjohnswarts 5y ago

I don't about anywhere else but the only thing you have to do is walk up to the pharmacist and show an ID. I couldn't care less. I'm buying like a couple of weeks worth. I've had the same process in two different states, and not sure why it's a big deal? We can't have nice things because meth cooks were coming with shopping bags and stealing it all.

deltarholamda 5y ago

The US would elect a baby-eating space alien from Tau Ceti VI as president if Zbleqq'takkx's primary platform plank was "make it so you can buy real Sudafed without a lot of hassle and faff."

astrange 5y ago
Yeah, US voters do seem to like electing presidents for things only Congress has the power to do. Of course, presidents also like proposing things they can't do. Presidents' main differences are on foreign policy which is the one thing nobody asks them about.

ZephyrOhm 5y ago

Is it also possible to buy meth and turn it into ephedrine? That would be phenomenal

quickthrower2 5y ago

The cartels end up selling $200 bottles of cough medicine and making more money that way. Then they lobby to keep it illegal.