Poll: Should St. Louis County & City Require Prescriptions for Cold & Allergy Medicines to Stop the Production of Meth?
You thought manufacturing had left the St. Louis region? Not so, the manufacturing of meth is going strong. Not in the city, but in the rural fringes:
Leaders in four area counties announced on Thursday a regional anti-meth drive — pushing simultaneously to require prescriptions for cold and allergy medications containing the key ingredient used to make the illicit drug.
Officials in St. Charles and Franklin counties say they’ve already lined up enough votes on their governing boards to pass countywide prescription requirements for products with pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed. The measures would apply both in unincorporated areas and cities. Â (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
St. Louis County & St. Louis City are not part of this effort and some think those making meth with drive in to buy cold & allergy medication. So my poll question this week asks if St. Louis County & City should also require prescriptions for cold and allergy medications now sold over the counter?
– Steve Patterson
 I am against the ban, but your option about a “rural problem” is off the mark. Meth is getting more widespread in cities, and has in fact been a huge problem among gay populations which tend to be in cities as well. Not to mention that the major meth trafficking (as opposed to the small-time cooks that we visualize) occurs in cities which act as hubs of distribution and all the associated crime.
I am against the ban, but your option about a “rural problem” is off the mark. Meth is getting more widespread in cities, and has in fact been a huge problem among gay populations which tend to be in cities as well. Not to mention that the major meth trafficking (as opposed to the small-time cooks that we visualize) occurs in cities which act as hubs of distribution and all the associated crime.
True, meth is also a city problem. In providing poll answers I try to cover a wide range of potential viewpoints.
Using meth is illegal. Possessing meth is illegal. Making meth is illegal. Having the equipment to make meth is illegal. None of this has stopped people from making and using meth. And requiring that law abiding citizens obtain a prescription for the most effective OTC congestion remedy won’t stop them either. It WILL waste loads of time and money, driving up health care and insurance costs. It will keep doctors busy with trivia. And it will mean that those who are too poor to pay for a doctor’s appointment, or too busy to deal with it, to do without this excellent drug. The cops and politicians pushing this are so obsessed with the few bad apples that they’ve lost sight of what is best for the 99.9% of us who do NOT cook meth.
Using meth is illegal. Possessing meth is illegal. Making meth is illegal. Having the equipment to make meth is illegal. None of this has stopped people from making and using meth. And requiring that law abiding citizens obtain a prescription for the most effective OTC congestion remedy won’t stop them either. It WILL waste loads of time and money, driving up health care and insurance costs. It will keep doctors busy with trivia. And it will mean that those who are too poor to pay for a doctor’s appointment, or too busy to deal with it, to do without this excellent drug. The cops and politicians pushing this are so obsessed with the few bad apples that they’ve lost sight of what is best for the 99.9% of us who do NOT cook meth.
True, meth is also a city problem. In providing poll answers I try to cover a wide range of potential viewpoints.