Ah, 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/f

Ah, 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.