Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sudafed, Scorge of American Youth
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I don't get too many colds bad enough to make me want to take Sudafed. [Legal disclaimer: Sudafed is a registered trademark of whomever makes it and I have nothing to do with them. I do use the product once in a while, however.] The stuff works, and frankly if you're all stuffed up to the point where it makes you cough and wheeze then you might consider a dose of such a decongestant yourself. But, if you buy it it the United States, be prepared for a few hoops to jump.
.
The other day I bought some Sudafed for the first time in several years. I knew that I had to get it from the pharmacist directly, but I didn't know about the registry I got to sign swearing that I wasn't going to make illegal things out of it, and also leaving my name in case somebody is thought to be making illegal things with it in my neighborhood and they'll know where to look. I also had to show my ID, to prove I was myself and not somebody making illegal things with it in my neighborhood. Then I got to pay for it and actually take it home with me. The whole process made me wish there was something illegal I could make with it that I'd actually want to use. The stuff they're supposedly controlling I wouldn't want if you gave it to me, so all I can do is complain, so here we are.
.
The active ingredient in Sudafed is sudephidrine, which is shorthand for pseudo ephidrine, which is to say that it is to ephedrine what Novocaine is to Cocaine, which is to say just a different form of the same thing. Sudephidrine and ephidrine both are good at clearing out clogged sinuses, which is a nice thing every so often. Ephedrine will do everything sudephidrine will do, including serve as raw material for the manufacturer of methamphetamine, if that's what you're into. And, so what, I can just hear you saying.
.
So you're saying that because either 1) you're not from the Southwest or 2) you are from the Southwest but you don't know about Mormon Tea. Mormon Tea is the common name for a plant more scientifically named ephedra. If you're up on your greco-roman language roots, you might notice that ephedra is the root of ephedrine. Ephedrine is a natural part of ephedra. Ephedra is almost as common as sagebrush in the Southwest. In fact, even though Nevada is the Sagebrush State (among other things) there is more Ephedra growing near my home than there is Artimesia (sagebrush. Love that Latin.) That means that anyone who really wanted a goodly supply of raw materials to make methamphetamine only needs to take a trip out into the desert and gather a truckload of bushes. You don't need anything from the store. So, you say, that's why there are still so many tweekers around? It grows in the desert? Well, no. They get their stuff from Mexican labs which we can't do anything about. If they close, they'll get their stuff from Guatemalan labs, or Afghani labs, or maybe Canadian pharmacies on line. My point being that there is no practical way to keep the tweekers from getting their crystal. So, in another typical episode of our response to a social and public health problem (illicit drug use) we simply make life more difficult for everybody by making it a legal issue instead. Do the cops not have enough to do already? But, that's us: don't like something about the user, ban the drug.
.
Yeah, sure. The fact that the precipitating influence in making Cocaine illegal was the tragic case of an African-American man who committed axe murders and used the drug is just a coincidence. As, I'm sure are these excerpts taken from The Drug Law Timeline, which is the result, as you'll see if you visit, of a project by a Sociology class.
First, as to Opium:
The first laws against opium smoking were passed in San Francisco and Virginia City. Opium itself was not outlawed and remained available in any number of over-the-counter products. Only the smoking of opium was outlawed, because that was a peculiarly Chinese habit and the laws were specifically directed at the Chinese. The white people in the communities feared that Chinese men were luring white women to have sex in opium dens.
.
Marijuana:
Utah passed the first state anti-marijuana law. Mormons who had gone to Mexico in 1910 returned smoking marijuana. It was outlawed at a result of the Utah legislature enacting all Mormon religion prohibitions as criminal laws..
.
How about that? Somebodies religious agenda was made into law, not only in Utah but nationwide. How American is that, huh? But, how about an instance that really made a difference, as in this case from about a hundred years ago, more or less:
The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed, forming the Food and Drug Administration and giving it power to regulate foods and drugs, and requiring labeling of contents on foods and drugs. The most important effect on the drug problem was the demise of the patent medicine industry. Drug addiction began a dramatic drop.
.
A dramatic drop in drug addiction? Because we did something sensible like require honesty in packaging and advertising instead of making criminals out of poor folks who need rehab? Well, a century ago there was some sense in the public, but I guess it got filtered out by the politics of fear over the decades. That's really too bad, too, because I still have that dratted cold, and I may need another box of Sudafed by the end of the week. Do they let you use the Internet in the Federal pen?
I don't get too many colds bad enough to make me want to take Sudafed. [Legal disclaimer: Sudafed is a registered trademark of whomever makes it and I have nothing to do with them. I do use the product once in a while, however.] The stuff works, and frankly if you're all stuffed up to the point where it makes you cough and wheeze then you might consider a dose of such a decongestant yourself. But, if you buy it it the United States, be prepared for a few hoops to jump.
.
The other day I bought some Sudafed for the first time in several years. I knew that I had to get it from the pharmacist directly, but I didn't know about the registry I got to sign swearing that I wasn't going to make illegal things out of it, and also leaving my name in case somebody is thought to be making illegal things with it in my neighborhood and they'll know where to look. I also had to show my ID, to prove I was myself and not somebody making illegal things with it in my neighborhood. Then I got to pay for it and actually take it home with me. The whole process made me wish there was something illegal I could make with it that I'd actually want to use. The stuff they're supposedly controlling I wouldn't want if you gave it to me, so all I can do is complain, so here we are.
.
The active ingredient in Sudafed is sudephidrine, which is shorthand for pseudo ephidrine, which is to say that it is to ephedrine what Novocaine is to Cocaine, which is to say just a different form of the same thing. Sudephidrine and ephidrine both are good at clearing out clogged sinuses, which is a nice thing every so often. Ephedrine will do everything sudephidrine will do, including serve as raw material for the manufacturer of methamphetamine, if that's what you're into. And, so what, I can just hear you saying.
.
So you're saying that because either 1) you're not from the Southwest or 2) you are from the Southwest but you don't know about Mormon Tea. Mormon Tea is the common name for a plant more scientifically named ephedra. If you're up on your greco-roman language roots, you might notice that ephedra is the root of ephedrine. Ephedrine is a natural part of ephedra. Ephedra is almost as common as sagebrush in the Southwest. In fact, even though Nevada is the Sagebrush State (among other things) there is more Ephedra growing near my home than there is Artimesia (sagebrush. Love that Latin.) That means that anyone who really wanted a goodly supply of raw materials to make methamphetamine only needs to take a trip out into the desert and gather a truckload of bushes. You don't need anything from the store. So, you say, that's why there are still so many tweekers around? It grows in the desert? Well, no. They get their stuff from Mexican labs which we can't do anything about. If they close, they'll get their stuff from Guatemalan labs, or Afghani labs, or maybe Canadian pharmacies on line. My point being that there is no practical way to keep the tweekers from getting their crystal. So, in another typical episode of our response to a social and public health problem (illicit drug use) we simply make life more difficult for everybody by making it a legal issue instead. Do the cops not have enough to do already? But, that's us: don't like something about the user, ban the drug.
.
Yeah, sure. The fact that the precipitating influence in making Cocaine illegal was the tragic case of an African-American man who committed axe murders and used the drug is just a coincidence. As, I'm sure are these excerpts taken from The Drug Law Timeline, which is the result, as you'll see if you visit, of a project by a Sociology class.
First, as to Opium:
The first laws against opium smoking were passed in San Francisco and Virginia City. Opium itself was not outlawed and remained available in any number of over-the-counter products. Only the smoking of opium was outlawed, because that was a peculiarly Chinese habit and the laws were specifically directed at the Chinese. The white people in the communities feared that Chinese men were luring white women to have sex in opium dens.
.
Marijuana:
Utah passed the first state anti-marijuana law. Mormons who had gone to Mexico in 1910 returned smoking marijuana. It was outlawed at a result of the Utah legislature enacting all Mormon religion prohibitions as criminal laws..
.
How about that? Somebodies religious agenda was made into law, not only in Utah but nationwide. How American is that, huh? But, how about an instance that really made a difference, as in this case from about a hundred years ago, more or less:
The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed, forming the Food and Drug Administration and giving it power to regulate foods and drugs, and requiring labeling of contents on foods and drugs. The most important effect on the drug problem was the demise of the patent medicine industry. Drug addiction began a dramatic drop.
.
A dramatic drop in drug addiction? Because we did something sensible like require honesty in packaging and advertising instead of making criminals out of poor folks who need rehab? Well, a century ago there was some sense in the public, but I guess it got filtered out by the politics of fear over the decades. That's really too bad, too, because I still have that dratted cold, and I may need another box of Sudafed by the end of the week. Do they let you use the Internet in the Federal pen?
Labels: Politics, Social Commentary
Saturday, November 24, 2007
My Review of "Enchanted"
You know, this is a pretty funny movie, even though Walt might be appalled by it.
Labels: Reviews
Sunday, November 04, 2007
The Presidential Election
.
Well, there are exactly 366 days left until the election, that's one leap year, which 2008 is. And how are we doing so far?
.
Hillary is looking good, or so they say, to take the nomination, and then the country, and make history as the first cuckolded wife ever to be elected President. Well, good for her. A lot of people are cheering for Al Gore, who, to look at him, is actually pretty fat and happy doing whatever he's doing these days. He actually is starting to resemble Rush Limbaugh, which is at least interesting to think about. Two pundits without real jobs, each, well, maybe I should stop while I'm ahead. Obama's a charismatic fellow but nobody trusts him to know what he's doing. He'd do well in Vegas, though, since he was born in Hawaii, as was a large portion of the population hereabouts.
.
Over on the Republican side we've got Rudy the cross-dresser, Mitt the Mormon, McCain the Crashed and Burned, and an actor from Law and Order who actually seems to talk well and think about what he's saying. He's a no brainer: he's too thoughtful to be President, so he's wasting his time. Pity. Seems a nice guy. Besides, in important news, somebody on his staff sold drugs, once. Gasp! I swear, people seem to think that breaking a drug law puts some sort of mark on your forehead or something. The guy was just being an entrepreneur, for heaven's sake.
.
Well, the way it's looking, the Republican primary means about as much as that famous pledge to still respect her in the morning, so the real action is the Dems. Sorry, if you're one of those folks who really hate all things Clinton, you're in for a rough time. Canada is North of here, in case you've been wondering. They have good comedians there, so it's not all bad. And it never snows in July. 'Bye. But if you're not one of them, then maybe you're one of the majority who wants the 'anything but Bush Republicans' slate to win, so maybe you can hope for Obama for Vice President, which would certainly be one for the books, wouldn't it?
.
There have been no campaign ads on TV yet in Nevada. Lucky us.
Well, there are exactly 366 days left until the election, that's one leap year, which 2008 is. And how are we doing so far?
.
Hillary is looking good, or so they say, to take the nomination, and then the country, and make history as the first cuckolded wife ever to be elected President. Well, good for her. A lot of people are cheering for Al Gore, who, to look at him, is actually pretty fat and happy doing whatever he's doing these days. He actually is starting to resemble Rush Limbaugh, which is at least interesting to think about. Two pundits without real jobs, each, well, maybe I should stop while I'm ahead. Obama's a charismatic fellow but nobody trusts him to know what he's doing. He'd do well in Vegas, though, since he was born in Hawaii, as was a large portion of the population hereabouts.
.
Over on the Republican side we've got Rudy the cross-dresser, Mitt the Mormon, McCain the Crashed and Burned, and an actor from Law and Order who actually seems to talk well and think about what he's saying. He's a no brainer: he's too thoughtful to be President, so he's wasting his time. Pity. Seems a nice guy. Besides, in important news, somebody on his staff sold drugs, once. Gasp! I swear, people seem to think that breaking a drug law puts some sort of mark on your forehead or something. The guy was just being an entrepreneur, for heaven's sake.
.
Well, the way it's looking, the Republican primary means about as much as that famous pledge to still respect her in the morning, so the real action is the Dems. Sorry, if you're one of those folks who really hate all things Clinton, you're in for a rough time. Canada is North of here, in case you've been wondering. They have good comedians there, so it's not all bad. And it never snows in July. 'Bye. But if you're not one of them, then maybe you're one of the majority who wants the 'anything but Bush Republicans' slate to win, so maybe you can hope for Obama for Vice President, which would certainly be one for the books, wouldn't it?
.
There have been no campaign ads on TV yet in Nevada. Lucky us.
Labels: Politics, Social Commentary
