Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) supposedly OTC, but are any pharmacies actually selling it? (sales, houses)

[Those Who Squirm]

(Note, I don't need to obtain Sudafed, I'm just curious about its availability since Oregon lifted the prescription requirement. I have been interested in the subject of drug laws and regs for many years.)

In order to combat the meth problem, then considered the most urgent drug crisis of the time, Oregon imposed a prescription requirement on pseudoephedrine and related drugs in the mid-2000s. A couple of years ago, that law was repealed, and now these drugs are (theoretically) available OTC, though you still have to go to a pharmacy to buy them.

Or you would, if any pharmacies were actually selling these drugs over the counter.

Since I don't need the drugs, I haven't been seriously trying to find them. But at Sav-On, my regular pharmacy, they don't have it; they explained that they weren't able to implement the infrastructure to comply with the quantity limits and monitoring requirements under Federal law. I asked at Rite-Aid and they told me the same thing.

So what I'd like to know is whether this is typical. Are any of the major pharmacy chains selling pseudoephedrine and ephedrine (Primatene tablets) over the counter in this state?

As an aside, ISTM the tracking and record-keeping requirements mandated by the 2005 Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act are far more thorough and effective than the tracking of opioids. If you go over your daily or monthly limit, you may indeed face arrest and possible prosecution--perhaps not immediately, but after your excess purchase is revealed by a periodic audit of all the pharmacies' sales records. By contrast, it appears to be the case that one could visit three shady pill mills in a day and have three scripts filled at three different pharmacies. If they could have monitored oxy and fentanyl as closely as they monitor Sudafed, the opioid addiction crisis might never have been this bad, and we might not even know who the Sacklers are.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

As far as I know, you have to walk up to the pharmacy counter and ask for it. They will not sell it to you in bulk. However, I don't use the drug so I have not done any research about how to buy it.

A more rational question is: does anyone even still use pseudoephedrine for snotty nose since there are a dozen or so more modern meds that work better and many of those are available right off the shelf.

I'm going to give props to the state of Oregon because they put an end to the home based Meth manufacturing. Meth still flows in from Mexico, but the dopers are no longer turning houses and neighborhoods and public restrooms toxic with the fumes of their Meth labs. So at least if the meth heads want to kill themselves, they can keep it to themselves without destroying property and poisoning the people around them.

And by the way, Oregon started it, but it is now a federal law that pseudoephedrine can not be out on the shelves.

[Those Who Squirm]

As far as I know, you have to walk up to the pharmacy counter and ask for it.

That doesn't work if the pharmacy isn't stocking it, or if it requires a prescription per its own internal rules.

A more rational question is: does anyone even still use pseudoephedrine for snotty nose since there are a dozen or so more modern meds that work better and many of those are available right off the shelf.

.

Sudafed isn't really for snotty noses, if by snotty you mean runny. For that you would take an antihistamine, and yes, the newer antihistamines like Zyrtec and Allegra are arguably than the older ones like Benadryl.

Sudafed is a decongestant taken to relieve pressure in the sinuses. It's great for sinus headaches, which is why pseudoephedrine is included in many cold meds.

[ejisme]

I think your answer is to walk into your local pharmacy of choice and ask at the counter if they have Sudafed. I think chances are they will, but you'll never know without asking.

[Hemlock140]

I have always found it to be the best over-the-counter treatment for me with a bad cold. Since the 2011 law here in Washington it's just having to ask at the Pharmacy counter and show an ID.

[stephenMM]

It may work like it does here in Arkansas....it depends. When I wanted to buy some in the Walmart pharmacy, the clerk said it had to be from a doctor's prescription. When I called another Walmart pharmacy, they said no, it was not a prescription medicine, but the state law (according to them) said you had to either have a prescription or have a relationship w/ a prescribing doctor at that particular pharmacy.

I was going to go back and try it again at the first Walmart since I get all my prescribed meds filled there, but by then my sniffles had dried up on their own. It's a lousy drug in any case, which often has a rebound effect, and will make you more jittery than several cups of coffee. I'm pretty sure it's not the same drug it was years ago either. They changed the formula to make it less of an "upper", or something.

It's doubtful what they're doing is going to keep anyone from making meth if that's their heart's desire. When I lived in San Diego and Las Cruces, NM, a walk over the border into Mexico enabled you to buy all manner of drugs w/o a prescription right off the shelves from their drugstores. Could you bring them back across? As long as you had a receipt, I don't see why not. The drug cartels are professionals, they can probably get the raw ingredients shipped in bulk like they do from China w/ Fentanyl.

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by stephenMM

..........

It's doubtful what they're doing is going to keep anyone from making meth if that's their heart's desire. When I lived in San Diego and Las Cruces, NM, a walk over the border into Mexico enabled you to buy all manner of drugs w/o a prescription right off the shelves from their drugstores. Could you bring them back across? As long as you had a receipt, I don't see why not. The drug cartels are professionals, they can probably get the raw ingredients shipped in bulk like they do from China w/ Fentanyl.

There are almost no meth-producing houses left in the United States. They can't compete with the cartels. Yes, it's mass-produced in Mexico. 100 lbs was just seized in Oregon. Probably thousands of pounds make it through undetected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyw7...el=NewsWatch12

[RocketDawg]

The way it's done here seems to work pretty well: in the place where products normally are, items like Sudafed are replaced with a card, showing strength, number of pills, etc. You take the card to the pharmacy counter, and they check your ID (typically a driver's license) on the database to make sure you're not buying too much too often (don't know what the criteria are). Assuming you qualify, you get the product and the card is kept by the checker. That way, you know if the item is in stock or not by the presence or absence of the card.