Pros And Cons Of Pseudoephedrine

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Pseudoephedrine has been the subject of state and national debate for the past several decades. Pseudoephedrine more commonly known as (PSE) is the main ingredient used to make a highly addictive stimulant drug called methamphetamine (meth) (Menon). PSE is commonly found in cold and allergy medications making it an easy source for addicts to obtain the chemical. Could this issue be resolved by making PSE available by prescription only? Legitimate uses for PSE would include many nasal decongestant products. Millions of Americans use the nasal decongestants containing PSE to relieve cold and allergy symptoms. Selling prescriptions containing PSE over-the-counter is very risky. The main risk for selling these medications is how easy it would be for people who operate illegal meth labs to obtain the main ingredient for making meth. “Oregon and Mississippi are the only two states that currently require a prescription for dispensing PSE to a customer” (Schroeder). According to law makers in those states, the step of having to have a prescription has all but eliminated production and selling of meth. …show more content…

Meth is a very dangerous drug that is cheap and very easy to make. Making the product very hard to get would cause the numbers of meth addicts to decrease sufficiently, and the production of meth to decrease as well. Sargent Christian Gallagher of the Terre Haute Police Department said, “Anybody who knows a meth addict knows that just having the sale blocked is not a permanent deterrent. I would think of it more as a delayed sale. That’s where the prescription is 100 times more effective” (Bradner). This argument proves that having to get a prescription and take that much effort will deter many from continuing this dangerous