Jailed for buying Sudafed her Instructor told her to get

[DandyDon]

Arrrg! And it is indeed getting worse...!

I stopped by the Walgreens on two different days in Lubbock this past weekend and stocked up on Wal-Act. Fortunately my usual needs are much less than limits allowed, but fitting my shopping into the limits can be challenging.

I spent an hour on calls (including hold times) to the three local, chain stores just trying to learn what they carried in pseudoephedrine with or without triprolidine and the choices seem to be falling rapidly. I understand their positions, as the sales are a lot more trouble for them, with reduced incomes. If I want the best prices month to month, I really need to repeat the calls, update my shopping info, then plan my errands. Funny local examples...

Amigos has a store label of the old Actifed. They don't carry it here but will order it for me, and their prices are better than Walgreen's - but they carry it in a 24 ct box, half the size of Walgreen's - so I have to go in twice as often picking up one box/day max.

Amigo's price on straight PSE is much cheaper than Walmarts or CVS, but the biggest box they carry is 24 - 30 mg, which means more trips at a box/day. Well, I use their sister store for my grocery shopping; maybe I'll just have to change groceries.

Walmart did carry a 48 - 30 mg of PSE at a decent price last fall, but not now. All they have in PSE is 20 - 120 mg, and their price is less than half of CVS's, but - the 120 mg just doesn't really fit my approach. Grrrr!
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This is all pretty silly. :silly:

 

[DandyDon]

Damn Damn Damn...!
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Amigo's price on straight PSE is much cheaper than Walmarts or CVS, but the biggest box they carry is 24 - 30 m

After all that, I made it to town today, stopped in to get the 24 - 30 mg for $1.49. "That's $4.99 sir." "What?! I was told $1.49?" They came down to $3.49. :silly: I decline, then the druggist went on and on about her costs, how much trouble it is to sell PSE, etc. Yeah, yeah - knew all that already. "That girl was just here for that day. I heard her talking to you, but she gave you the wrong price."

I ordered the 24 ct of store brand Actifed for next trip.

This is going to keep getting worse...!

 

[jc1350]

Phenylephrine doesn't appear to be an effective decongestant when taken orally due to it being metabolized too easily. There are several articles referencing this including References section of Phenylephrine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia below the Questions about effectiveness section.

I did some research into this a few years ago when it seemed like phenylephrine didn't work for me. Now I know it doesn't work for me. Glad I stopped throwing my money away and with bitterness I jump through the hoops to get the proven effective decongestant.

 

[DandyDon]

Phenylephrine doesn't appear to be an effective decongestant when taken orally due to it being metabolized too easily. There are several articles referencing this including References section of Phenylephrine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia below the Questions about effectiveness section.

I did some research into this a few years ago when it seemed like phenylephrine didn't work for me. Now I know it doesn't work for me. Glad I stopped throwing my money away and with bitterness I jump through the hoops to get the proven effective decongestant.

The Wiki article is pretty damning, isn't it. I like this excerpt...

Questions about effectiveness

Pharmacists Leslie Hendeles and Randy Hatton of the University of Florida suggested in 2006 that oral phenylephrine is ineffective as a decongestant at the 10-mg dose used, arguing that the studies used for the regulatory approval of the drug in the United States in 1976 were inadequate to prove effectiveness at the 10-mg dose and safety at higher doses.^[11] Other pharmacists have expressed concerns over phenylephrine's effectiveness as a nasal decongestant,^[1] and other clinicians have indicated concern for regulatory actions that reduced the availability of pseudoephedrine.^[12][13] A subsequent meta-analysis by the same researchers concluded that there is insufficient evidence for its effectiveness,^[14] though another meta-analysis published shortly thereafter by researchers from GlaxoSmithKline found the standard 10 mg dose to be significantly more effective than a placebo.^[15] Additionally, two studies published in 2009 examined the effects of phenylephrine on symptoms of allergic rhinitis by exposing sufferers to pollen in a controlled, indoor environment. Neither study was able to distinguish between the effects of phenylephrine or a placebo.^[16][17] Pseudoephedrine^[16] and loratadine-montelukast therapy^[17] were found to be significantly more effective than both phenylephrine and placebo.

The Food and Drug Administration has stood by its 1976 approval of phenylephrine for nasal congestion as the debate continues.^[10]

So I'll keep jumping thru the hoops as you mentioned, the hassles of comparing prices and availabilities here in the wilds of west Texas, try to not attract the attention of drug enforcement officers, etc. I think a physicians prescription would make buying more than 3 grams possible, and we may soon need that anyway.

 

[DandyDon]

Here I have been working at getting the details right on the regulations and limits, making sure I am in compliance - not an easy task at all as the info is hard to find, while also shopping for better prices with the reducing supplies and increasing prices. If my actual usage stays below daily maximum doses, I thought I might stockpile my hay fever meds for when it gets even more difficult and expensive to buy.

Then I read about a lady pleading guilty to possession of too much pseudoephedrine?! Excuse me? WTH? Sure enough, additional searching discovered even more rules...!!

Possession of Precursor Materials

The Texas Controlled Substances Act criminalizes the possession of large quantities of chemicals used in the production of methamphetamine, such as anhydrous ammonia and pseudoephedrine. Specifically, a Texas resident may not possess more than 300 tablets containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, lithium metal removed from a battery and immersed in mineral spirits or kerosene, or three of the following five categories of substances used in the production of methamphetamine: lithium, sulfuric acid, organic solvents, petroleum distillates and salt. The possession of precursor materials for the production of methamphetamine carries a punishment of imprisonment of between two and 20 years.
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Okay okay, 75 day supply max on hand. While I am ensuring that I am legal, I do have salt in the kitchen, but I guess I am good on that other stuff. I'll double check my garage. It really sounds like they want to be able to arrest anyone with a cell phone and a car. Jeeze...!

Anything else...??

 

[HamataBound]

My first thought is why would a divemaster ever recommend they dive on decongestants...

I have to say I was a little worried that it took this long for someone to bring that up.:shocked2::shocked2::shocked2:

 

[DandyDon]

I have to say I was a little worried that it took this long for someone to bring that up.:shocked2::shocked2::shocked2:

Some of us can't imagine diving without them, but we make sure they don't quit while on the dive.

 

[Ayisha]

My first thought is why would a divemaster ever recommend they dive on decongestants...

I have to say I was a little worried that it took this long for someone to bring that up.:shocked2::shocked2::shocked2:

That quote from Shasta_man was from the next day after the OP. It is now almost one month later...

 

[FPDocMatt]

If there's one thing true about drug users, it's that they lie. And convincingly.

Even if she's completely innocent, there are so many circumstantial factors here that I can't fault the DA for prosecuting her.

And she should never have signed a statement admitting to crimes she did not commit.

It's interesting that, as a society, we consider grandmothers to be innocent by definition. I can understand where this comes from, but as a grandfather I have to say that a grandparent isn't really that old.

Let's see, where did I put my Sudafed?

 

[cruiser]

Granny's story starting slipping when they found the methodone bottle and lost all credibility when the drug paraphernalia was found.