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I had a friend who would keep pseudoephedrine in his glovebox to be used for alertness in case he became drowsy driving. He was a chem nerd, so was not particu
by cwkoss 5y ago
I had a friend who would keep pseudoephedrine in his glovebox to be used for alertness in case he became drowsy driving. He was a chem nerd, so was not particularly remarkable to me.
I have to wonder if the restrictions on pseudoephedrine have driven anyone to purchase meth. The safety profile of pseudoephedrine is pretty good - I think it could be argued its a good legal stimulant to offer to the public.
Could increasing it's availability be a legitimate harm reduction measure that would displace/prevent meth use among some populations?
- scythe 5y agoDoubtful. Caffeine is already a legal recreational stimulant. What distinguishes methamphetamine/cocaine is that they are, for want of a better word, prosocial. People don't just do meth, they seek out other people who are also doing meth. Pseudo will not fill that niche. There may be other "safe(r)" substitutes, such as HDMP-28 or amfonelic acid or something, but they have to reproduce the social function of recreational stimulants to culturally substitute.
- cwkoss 5y agoAh, yeah the social aspect probably can't be replaced by pseudoephedrine. However, meth can be functional enough that I would guess it's used for wakefulness/focus among a significant proportion of users (especially in early stages of addiction): truckers using it to drive longer, students using it to study, graveyard shift workers using it to stay alert while operating dangerous equipment, etc. These use cases seem like they could potentially substitute pseudoephedrine, and in doing so, could function as an "anti-gateway-drug": users who solve their use case without the euphoria are less likely to get addicted or transition into social usage.