Sudafed Up

Speaking of drugs, call me square (or at the very least rectangular) but the only "experimentation" I ever did with drugs in college (or ever) involved Sudafed (and not in the way mentioned below). But now, battling the sniffles brought on by Syracuse winters will be that much harder, at least according to John Tierney in the N.Y. Times (it's behind the Times' paywall, but can be read via The Economist's View blog):

This month, pharmacists across the country are being forced to lock up another menace to society: cold medicine. Allergy and cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine, a chemical that can illegally be used to make meth, must now be locked behind the counter under a provision in the new Patriot Act. Don't ask what meth has to do with the war on terror. Not even the most ardent drug warriors have been able to establish an Osama-Sudafed link.

The F.D.A. opposed these restrictions for pharmacies because they'll drive up health care costs and effectively prevent medicine from reaching huge numbers of people ... These costs are undeniable, but it's unclear that there are any net benefits. In states that previously enacted their own restrictions, the police report that meth users simply switched from making their own to buying imported drugs that were stronger — and more expensive, so meth users commit more crimes to pay for their habit.

If cold medicine is outlawed, only outlaws will get colds.