Controlled substances

[dmaze]

Why is it harder to buy pseudoephedrine than tobacco?

Comments

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

It's used in the bootleg manufacture of oxycontin?

[jered]

'cause you can't make methamphetamine from tobacco?

[dmaze]

So...product 1, probably lethal from extended normal use, requires a casual glance at ID; product 2, can be refined by knowledgeable people into an illegal substance but 99% of users want it for its legitimate medical purpose, requires the seller to record the buyer's personal data and the buyer to sign?

[jered]

Wrong family of drugs.

[jered]

Yup.... 'cause product 1 is grandfathered in to a multi-billion dollar industry that funds the government via taxation.

[gigglefest.livejournal.com]

Agreed. That said, apparently one doesn't have to be particularly knowledgeable to make meth. And my friend's 19-year-old cousin died in a particularly awful way after an accident in a basement meth lab. But yes, your analysis seems pretty much correct.

[nuclearpolymer.livejournal.com]

Aha, if only we could discover and publicize a way to turn chemical synthesis to tobacco into a narcotic substance. Then it would be tightly controlled too. Hey, while we're at it, maybe we can figure out a way to manufacture narcotics out of dumb people, and then they'd be illegal too.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

As it happens, I decided yesterday that I was willing to sell my principles for relief from the worst cold I've had in years. The worst thing about this nonsense is that it's apparently been successful, to the extent that meth production having shifted from small-time locals to Mexican gangsters, and consumption being down in favor of crack, is what passes for success in the drug war.