As methamphetamines use has continued to grow in the United States, state governments are now creating bills that could prevent creators of the drug from gaining access to decongestants such as Sudafed, many of which are currently available without a prescription and are used to create the deadly and addictive substance.
While meth use was once considered a problem in the western United States, data collected by the Treatment Episode Data Set since 1992 has shown a large influx in the Midwest and southern states such as Georgia and Alabama. Oregon and Mississippi pioneered the law – in both states, pseudoephedrine is only available through a prescription. According to The New York Times, meth lab seizures have dropped by 70 percent in these states as a result. With such a successful case to model after, states are right to attempt a similar trial.
As to be expected, pharmaceutical companies were irked at the thought of their costumers having to go to the doctor every time they want a remedy for a cold – a move that, potentially, could cost the companies some of their buyers. Some consumers have expressed similar thoughts, not wanting to visit their doctor just for a case of the sniffles. While the proposed laws may make acquisition of medicine more difficult, it may be a blessing in disguise. Americans spend more than $16 billion on drugs, a statistic that is only climbing. The drug companies have also focused their lobbying efforts on the places hit hardest by meth – the South and Midwest.
The sad reality is that meth is an incredibly pervasive drug, one that grabs on to its user and refuses to let go. The side effects of meth are possibly worse than many other drugs that came before it – not only is the drug addictive, but it can also radically change a person’s appearance for the worse. It also, in many cases, leads to a life of crime or even death. So while it may be inconvenient for the everyday person and pharmaceutical companies to adapt to the new way of doing things, the lives saved would be worth it.
Compromise has to be made somewhere in order to counteract the growing influence of drugs. Government representatives, who say they are first and foremost concerned about public health, should at the very least help prevent the first step in the production of meth.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
