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CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

arstechnica.com

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Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#201

Post by qeternity »

goodluckchuck wrote: post #196
phpisthebest wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>go to the pharmacy counter and get Pseudoephedrine Thanks DEA, you used to just be able to get that in Nyquil and all the others, but the DEA in their moronic idea that drug dealers are going and buying precursors from the local CVS (not stealing them in bulk) has to abuse millions of law abiding sick people forcing them to sign the "papers please" log book treating them like criminals for wanting to feel better.

Obviously retail pseudoephedrine was never a substantial contributor to methamphetamine production (tell me again why that’s illegal?). Which raises the question, what what the real goal in preventing people from buying functional medicines? Frankly I think the specific intent was exactly this. The main effect was to cause human suffering and Occams razor tells me the main effect was probably the intended effect.

> Occams razor

I think Hanlon's razor is more appropriate.

Somewhere there was a team of people in the government who worked untold hours studying this, proposing solutions and ultimately having change enacted. This would have been good for career progression for all involved, not because it was actually good, but simply because they did something. And therein lies government.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#202

Post by runlevel1 »

gumby wrote: post #162

Since homeopathy is still legal I think I'll launch a series of treatments based on your astrological sign (and perhaps the time when you get sick). Take this pill if you're a fish, have a cold, and it's October.

Make sure you put "Invented by a scuba diver!" on the package like the old Airborne boxes.

Might get bought for $150M just like they did.[^1]

[1]: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120402005634/en/Sch...

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#203

Post by Auracle »

heavyset_go wrote: post #76
Havoc wrote: post #65

Wasn't this the one they substituted with a half arsed version because the real deal was being bulk bought and cooked into meth? I guess new version being useless for meth cooking isn't the only thing it is useless at

Yes, and there's been evidence that is was garbage for years.

We literally knew the day they put it in the shelves it was 100% ineffective. The FDA dropped the ball hard on this.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#204

Post by ksherlock »

culi wrote: post #138
timr wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Isn't that one of the ingredients in meth? Not an ingredient -- a precursor. Methamphetamine, pseudoephedrine and and phenylephrine are very closely related: https://cen.acs.org/content/dam/cen/83/13/8313govpol1imgs.gi... To convert pseudoephedrine to meth you have to remove a hydroxyl (-OH) group in a way that leaves the resulting molecule in a specific isomer. Doing this at high yield is challenging, but it turns…

A fun fact is that both Ephedrine and PE are naturally derived from the Ephedra plant. During WW1 and WW2 there was a lot of research into how we can make these chemicals more potent and that's basically how we ended up with meth. Many soldiers came home after WW2 still addicted to meth and for a few years you could actually buy meth at your local drugstore as an OTC.

Yeah, Benzedrine inhaler tubes ("bennies") were banned in 1965.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#205

Post by alphabettsy »

cjensen wrote: post #56
tptacek wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's already easy to buy the stuff that works. You just have to go up to the counter and ask. You have to show ID, just like you do for liquor (and, because purchases of psuedoephedrine are rate-limited, they're going to log your purchase). You'll need to get over that, because I don't think the rate limit is going anywhere: psuedoephedrine essentially is methamphetamine, and it's the worst conceivable kind: the kind…

In California, the rate-limit for purchasing pseudoephedrine is insufficient for allergy sufferers. They end up having to go out of their way to stock up during the off-season.

It’s not an appropriate treatment for allergies though.

Are people taking it daily for a season rather than using a medication indicated for longer term use?

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#206

Post by alphabettsy »

01100011 wrote: post #112
tomohawk wrote: post #105

This sucks. I rarely take any of this stuff, but phenylephrine can do a lot to relieve pain.

Are you sure you're thinking of the right drug? I haven't heard that it possesses any analgesic properties.

For many it does indirectly since it relieves sinus pressure.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#207

Post by Auracle »

wl wrote: post #168
vGPU wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Under federal law, federally licensed gun dealers, importers and manufacturers must run background checks for sales to an unlicensed buyer. Specifically, a potential purchaser must show identification, complete a federal document known as a Form 4473, and pass a National Instant Criminal Background Check System check. Any licensed firearm dealer MUST run a background check at ALL times. Stop your misinformation.

I assume GP is talking about face-to-face private sales, which doesn’t require any background check on the federal level and in many states. In some states, you can go on Armslist and buy 20 guns without having to show an ID. And worse, running a background check isn’t even an option in most states unless you pay an FFL to intermediate the sale.

And you can absolutely buy meth in a private sale without doing a background check. Now, the whole buying meth part isn’t legal - but the lack of background check is.

I wonder if there are any states where you can buy Sudafed privately from someone without an ID. Probably.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#208

Post by pdonis »

CodeAndCuffs wrote: post #173
pdonis wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if you are actually congested, go to the pharmacy counter and get Pseudoephedrine Yes, that's what works for me. And of course it used to be available OTC until the government decided to control access to it because of fears of meth.

I mean we can see a demonstrable and quantifiable MASSIVE decrease in meth usage and overdose circa 2005 when the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act went into effect. Also, it's still available without a prescription, last I checked, it was just behind the counter/required an ID to track if you're grabbing a pack from every Walgreens in a 50 mile radius in a single night

> it's still available without a prescription, last I checked, it was just behind the counter/required an ID

Yes, which effectively makes it the same as needing a prescription because you can only get it if the pharmacy counter is open. Which is more restricted hours than the drugstore or grocery store itself.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#209

Post by heavyset_go »

Auracle wrote: post #203
heavyset_go wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and there's been evidence that is was garbage for years.

We literally knew the day they put it in the shelves it was 100% ineffective. The FDA dropped the ball hard on this.

It's a weird intersection of the War on Drugs, security theater and pharmaceutical regulation that brings out the worst of all three.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#210

Post by justinjlynn »

technothrasher wrote: post #175
pdonis wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if you are actually congested, go to the pharmacy counter and get Pseudoephedrine Yes, that's what works for me. And of course it used to be available OTC until the government decided to control access to it because of fears of meth.

> until the government decided to control access to it because of fears of meth. Passed as part of the Patriot Act re-authorization bill in 2005, because everybody knows terrorists and pseudoephedrine go hand in hand.

If I recall correctly, it was the resulting cash flow that needed to be laundered, and the potential of those operations to eventually result in the funding of terrorism, that was the alleged concern.
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