
If you have the sniffles and you want medicine that contains pseudoephedrine–a chemical that dries up the hardest cases of congestion–you have to submit yourself to a mild privacy violation and a sometimes major inconvenience. Sudafed contains a key ingredient used by amateur chemists to produce the illegal drug methamphetamine or crystal meth. Pseudoephedrine-based therapies–including Johnson & Johnson’s Sudafed line, Pfizer‘s Advil Cold & Sinus, and others–have been banned from store shelves since 2006. To buy them you need to find a pharmacy, which takes a copy of your driver’s license number when you make a purchase. Often it’s difficult to find a pharmacy that’s open when you need it–or one that’s fully stocked. There’s a price paid in convenience by the non-drug abusers in ...
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