The Shambleshow #30: The Pseudoephedrine Quest (4-15-12)
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1:05:58 – In this 30th entry in the continuing Shambleshow series, listen as Shambles Constant embarks upon a supposedly simple errand that turns out to be far more complicated than anyone could have imagined. Theme song: Simple Pleasures (Henry Homesweet, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 England & Wales).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
Attribution: by Shambles Constant – more info at onsug.com
Released April 2012 on The Overnightscape Underground (onsug.com), an Internet talk radio channel focusing on a freeform monologue style, with diverse and fascinating hosts.
Pseudoephedrine is regulated because people use it to make meth. That’s what I was told. Then I looked it up on Wikipedia.
Wiki says: “There have been reports of off-label uses of pseudoephedrine for its stimulant properties. Long-distance truck drivers and sports athletes, for example, have reportedly used pseudoephedrine as a stimulant to increase their state of alertness/awareness. The similarity in chemical structure to the amphetamines has made pseudoephedrine a sought-after chemical precursor in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine and methcathinone. As a result of the increasing regulatory restrictions on the sale and distribution of pseudoephedrine, many pharmaceutical firms have reformulated, or are in the process of reformulating medications to use alternative, but less effective, decongestants, such as phenylephrine. Many retailers, such as Target, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Boots and Winn-Dixie, have created corporate policies restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine-containing products. Their policies restrict sales by limiting purchase quantities and requiring a minimum age with proper identification. These requirements are similar to and sometimes more stringent than existing law. Internationally, pseudoephedrine is listed as a Table I precursor under the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.”
Comment by Carrie Michel — April 18, 2012 @ 4:40 pm
Oh! I never would have thought of that. Well, now I’m starting to regret the title of this episode… yikes!
All listeners: please know that I am not a methhead, and neither is my wife.
There. That oughta do it.
-Shambles
Comment by Shambles — April 19, 2012 @ 6:24 am
the whole concept is absurd, this is the sort of thing that sounds good to political folks and sounds good to reactionary attempts to solve the drug problem by making everyone a part of the criminal class. Now that this chemical is harder to get over the counter, drug productions just switches to other sources, or perhaps I’m wrong and this move has cured America of its meth problem. 🙂 At most its a big whatever to the meth makers and a everyday pain for the 99% of the normal people who just have a stuffed nose.
One of the sad outcomes of this is that all of the now freely available over the counter stuff uses 2nd rate but shelf legal ingredients that have more negative health consequences. Try and avoid the stuff that is on the shelf, many of those replacement versions are very dangerous for stroke risk.
Stick to psuedo and remember to punish knee jerk political people who make your life miserable all for a meaningless strong drug stance soundbite.
Comment by Chad Bowers — April 19, 2012 @ 5:57 pm
now that I’m done ranting, I would like to say that I enjoyed this episode very much. I too, try and be the hero on these sort of quests and sometimes feel amazed at how complicated some errands can become. Sometimes I feel that I have been drafted into a Laurel and Hardy like reality simulation, where my attempts to accomplish simple things becomes a comedy for some other race of beings living on the god level.
Comment by Chad Bowers — April 19, 2012 @ 6:00 pm