The FDA has a history too of banning anything that works for canine incontinence, first DES and then phenylpropanolomine (PPA, ingredient in diet pills abused by teenaged girls). What used be a penny a pill is now a dollar a pill, thanks to them.

As far as I know, there's no underground in canine incontinence pills.

I'm going to have to take issue with you on this one. Before moving to Texas, I lived in Portland for 15 years, and meth was a problem the magnitude of which is difficult for someone outside of the state to comprehend. The problem is even worse now.

Oregon has tried many different methods to control the spread of meth, and it appears the time has finally come to go to the source. I agree that requiring a prescription for cold medicine may seem extreme- and it is. If you lived in Oregon, you might have a better understanding for what a horrendous problem meth has become. Oregon is a state with limited resources. What else might you suggest they do?

Jack,

Making otc cold medication a controlled substance is not going to have much impact on meth production. It may drive the price up a bit, but it's much more likely to increase crime. You'll have people bootlegging it over state lines, ordering it online, or simply robbing or burgling pharmacies to get it.

There is no simple solution to the drug problem. But I suspect that one reason drug users tend to flock to Oregon is because the state caters to the granola crowd, and they are soft on drug crime. Try locking some of these people up for a long time, and not letting them out on parole.

Or take the libertarian approach, and legalize it. But that's another discussion...

Apparently Jack believes that meth addicts can't drive accross the river to Vancouver.

When I worked at Wal Mart our state passed a bill that required the pharmacist to give out the drug to customers who asked. This was at first dumb in my book since anyone could go from one place to another but the criminal mind in general isn't as smart as it used to be and it actually has reduced meth in our state somewhat. (Must be the same people who shoplift, why the hell do you go to the same store and do it over and over, you'll get caught!) Anyway, these people are easy to spot since they ask stuff like "What is the limit, give it to me." Show up more than three times in a day buying the same thing, and buying everything with a trackable monetary form.

I think the under the counter bill is a better compromise over making people get a prescription for it. The Drug Tech can keep an eye out for any repeat offfenders and the state doesn't have to butt in or cost us a in money or a great loss of freedom.