4 ms·

I believe there isn't currently any mechanism for the U.S. FDA to restrict number of pills sold of OTC medication, only the contents of each individual pill and

I believe there isn't currently any mechanism for the U.S. FDA to restrict number of pills sold of OTC medication, only the contents of each individual pill and the dosage instructions. The assumption is that OTC means purchase itself is unregulated, so you can order a truck-load if you really want to stock up. The only cases I'm aware of where purchase numbers are limited for OTC drugs is when separate laws targeting drug precursors impact them, which is why you can't buy large numbers of pseudoephedrine tablets at once (they can be used to manufacture meth). The FDA does seem to be reducing the maximum dosage of each tablet, though: from 2014 the maximum will be 325mg, so the 500mg tablets linked above will be phased out. But that change seems aimed at reducing accidental liver damage from excessive "normal" use, rather than aimed at reducing suicides from deliberate overdoses.

ajays 14y ago
I believe there isn't currently any mechanism for the U.S. FDA to restrict number of pills sold of OTC medication There are exceptions (but I'm not sure if they're from the Law Enforcement side, or the FDA). For example, you can't buy Sudafed (whose active ingredient, pseudoephederine(?), is used to make meth) without severe restrictions: not more than a pack a day, need a valid ID, etc.
- rm999 14y ago
  Potassium is another (more bizarre) example. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101219083208AAP8SQM http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101219083208AA...
  - _delirium 14y ago
    While the limit is indeed bizarrely chosen, I think that one falls into the fairly common case of the FDA setting a per-pill maximum, not a limit on overall quantities. There's a limit of 100mg potassium per pill, but afaict there aren't any controls on buying the supplements in bulk, so you could order thousands of the pills if you wanted. The total-quantity limits seem to only be on things where the DEA has gained some authority over the substance.

ajays 14y ago

I believe there isn't currently any mechanism for the U.S. FDA to restrict number of pills sold of OTC medication There are exceptions (but I'm not sure if they're from the Law Enforcement side, or the FDA). For example, you can't buy Sudafed (whose active ingredient, pseudoephederine(?), is used to make meth) without severe restrictions: not more than a pack a day, need a valid ID, etc.

rm999 14y ago
Potassium is another (more bizarre) example. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101219083208AAP8SQM http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101219083208AA...
- _delirium 14y ago
  While the limit is indeed bizarrely chosen, I think that one falls into the fairly common case of the FDA setting a per-pill maximum, not a limit on overall quantities. There's a limit of 100mg potassium per pill, but afaict there aren't any controls on buying the supplements in bulk, so you could order thousands of the pills if you wanted. The total-quantity limits seem to only be on things where the DEA has gained some authority over the substance.