Sudafed

I went to the store to buy a box of Sudafed for my wife.....she has a bad cold.

Little did I know that it would have been a less involved procedure if I had tried to buy a gun or even dynamite.

First of all, even though no prescription is required, Sudafed is kept behind the pharmacy counter. I had to surrender my drivers license and wait while the pharmacist ran a background check on me on the computer. Then she entered some information about the Sudafed, including the lot number, and I had to fill out a tag with my name, address, date of birth, signature, and date and TIME of purchase. WTF?

I've heard that pseudo ephedrine, a Sudafed ingredient, is used to make methamphetamines, but is one box going to be enough for the government to worry about? It's probably been over 20 years since the last time I bought Sudafed, and I have no idea how to make methamphetamines, nor any inclination to do so.

This one purchase took several minutes, and the time and effort required to satisfy the law must have some influence on the cost of the drug.

Needless to say, I am not just disgusted.....I'm outraged! If 20 years ago someone had told me what I would have to go through just to by a stupid box of Sudafed, I would have said "No way! Not in THIS country!" But I was pretty naive 20 years ago.

Now if only someone could come up with a way to make a "dangerous" drug from dandelions. I would enjoy watching DEA agents desperately trying to keep my lawn free of weeds.