Millions of people around the world struggle with allergies. Many allergy sufferers use allergy medications in the forms of pills or shots. But how much do we really know about such drugs? How should we sell them?
Many people use over-the-counter (OTC) medications to treat their allergies. These medications don’t require doctors’ prescriptions. But even without prescriptions, it seems as if OTC medications are becoming harder to obtain.
Many stores keep certain OTC drugs behind the counter. They follow state laws that require people to show identification if they want to purchase OTC drugs and require people to be eighteen years old or older to purchase them.
Other stores place OTC allergy medications behind plastic shields that buyers must move. When the buyers move the shields, the movement triggers an alarm that indicates that someone is reaching for the allergy medications.
Why do all of these precautions exist? Well, people can develop an addiction to over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medications, just as they can form an addiction to other drugs.
People also use the ingredients found in cold medications to make other drugs, such as methamphetamine (meth). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires retailers to place medications with the ingredient pseudoephedrine behind the counter, requires purchasers to show photo IDs, and limits the amount people can buy. The regulations also collect information about the people buying such drugs for two years.
What effects are these efforts to limit medications with pseudoephedrine really having, though? It seems that the regulations require stores to treat people who buy such medications for legitimate reasons like criminals, like they’re going to use the medications to make meth.
In addition, if people are serious about making meth, an illegal pursuit, would they really try to legally buy medications with pseudoephedrine? They’re probably not too concerned with the law in the first place and wouldn’t want store employees and government databases aware of their purchasing history. Isn’t there a better way to track meth manufacturers and allow people to obtain the legal medication they need?
