In a couple days, I will have to go down to TJ for Nyquil.

[MindPilot]

New laws take effect in California, some good, some like needing a prescription for cough medicine, not so good.

Here's the article:

Starting January 1, new California laws take effect. Some give new protections to the public. Buying a used car? You now have a right to know its history. The government can’t snoop into your online reading habits. Your employer can’t peek at your credit report, in most cases. New laws also benefit pregnant employees, organ donors, renters, domestic partners, and bullied gay students.

Other laws impose restrictions. Want to buy popular cough syrups? You’ll need a prescription. If you order items online, you’ll be charged state sales tax. Shark fin soup and beer spiked with caffeine are banned. Employers have new requirements for notifying employees about pay and more. Kids must ride in a booster seat until age 8. Openly carrying a handgun is illegal, even if it isn’t loaded.

http://obrag.org/?p=51819

[dipsydoodle]

1. Blimey

You can buy cough medicines like that in supermarkets here in the UK even the small / mini markets.

[MineralMan]

2. That cough medicine law only applies to minors.

Adults can still buy it over the counter. That is already in place in Minnesota, and you have to either show ID or tell the checkout person your birthdate when you buy it. The date has to be punched into the register before the sale can take place.

Why? Because kids are ODing on dextromethorphan, the cough suppressant in those medications. If you take enough of it, you can get intoxicated and even have hallucinations. Take a little more, and you can die. So...the law is designed to keep stupid kids from buying the stuff and hurting themselves with it.

It's not a big deal. If you want pseudephedrine, you have to buy it from the pharmacist, but you don't need a prescription. Why? Because it's an ingredient that can be used to make methamphetamine, so the quantity of it you can purchase is limited and, in most states, you have to sign for it. Another good idea that is actually working.

[MindPilot]

4. It's already restricted to adults--this law removes it from OTC status.

For a few years , the law has been that you have to be 18 to buy it and you can't buy more than two bottles.

[MineralMan]

15. I believe you are incorrect.

Adults will not need a prescription. Only under 18 will need a prescription.

[Juneboarder]

23. Yes, incorrect statement

Just venture into your local Costco and you can buy the 6-pack of 6oz bottles.

[tavalon]

8. Both true here in Washington state

The hassle quotient is up, but to decrease the number of times I have to go through this crapola, I buy the biggest box of sudafed. The replacement item doesn't work with crap. I do the same with cough medicines. Of course, being a almost fifty year old mother is great urban camouflage. But, see, even though I believe all drugs should be legal and available, I'm not going to figure out how to make meth - it breaks my heart to see the soul and body destruction of a tweaker.

But if I had my druthers, I wish this law would go away.

BTW, that belief of mine has disallowed me from ever serving on a jury. Sure, I show up for jury duty when called but when I actually get picked for a jury pool, I get thrown out because of my radical drug views and yeah, every fricken' time I end up in a jury pool, it's a drug case!

[MindPilot]

12. Seven times on jury panels not once on a jury.

In one case the judge asked anyone who had issues with drug laws to raise their hand. Then he excused that entire group.

[tavalon]

18. I lived in the south then and when asked the same question, I was

Usually the only one who raised my hand. Usually, I was summarily dismissed just like that but at least twice I was questioned at length and one time it was almost like the lawyer was arguing with me about how wrong my stand was, but this has been such a longstanding belief of mine, he fairly soon figured out he was't going to change my mind, so one again, dismissed. I specifically remember him asking how as an RN,I could hold such a view, but then did't care to hear it, he was just trying to shame me, I guess.

[NNN0LHI]

22. He Mineral Man do you remember the old liquorice flavored Vicks-44D?

Boy did I like that stuff when I was a kid. They must have eventually banned it a couple of decades ago because people started liking it too much?

Don

[MineralMan]

24. I do remember that stuff. I hated it, though.

When I do need a cough remedy, I opt for the pills that contain dextromethorphan and guaifenesin. In generic form, they're cheaper than cough syrup and easier to use. The branded stuff is way overpriced, though. Fortunately, I don't often need such medications.

[kickysnana]

26. Really happy that the cost of Actifed skyrockeded when it went behind the counter.

I used to get generic 100 on sale for $3.98. The last time I got it I got 48 for $11.58. They actually can charge what they want because I cannot function without it. Real Actifed is not the same formula any longer and does not work for me.

I use it for breathing in the winter and allergy season, not meth.

What I heard was that the meth manufacturing and distribution moved to Mexico and became hard core and now an international problem. I haven't heard any statistics on deaths lately. Is it really working?

[MineralMan]

28. The reports I've read said that it is working.

Beyond that, I don't know.

[GoCubsGo]

46. Prices on most drugs are skyrocketing.

I doubt that it going behind the counter had anything to do with that. It's more the drug companies knowing that they can screw us. Even aspirin is getting ridiculous.

As for the meth production, it may have moved to Mexico, but they're still finding ways to make it here. There have been dozens of meth makers busted in my county over the past year, including one at the end of my street.

[kickysnana]

48. I am not surprised but that stuff poisins folks quickly.

We are like Russia where everyone was drunk just to be able to live with the stress of the oppressive government and gotcha society.

[Duer 157099]

30. I believe that the ingredient they are ODing on is not the DXM

I remember reading about this some years ago, and it was some other ingredient in the mix that was causing the kidney failure and other lethal reactions.

The problem is that they need to drink so much of the syrup to get the desired buzz from the DXM that they end up killing themselves from the other stuff.

Similar issue with codeine tablets with acetaminophen -- people OD on the acetaminophen portion of the mix.

[MineralMan]

31. According to the news reports today,

DXM was the problem. The news might have gotten it wrong, I suppose.

[Duer 157099]

32. That is a very common misbelief

Stemming from misreporting.

Not saying DXM isn't a problem because at high doses it does act as a hallucinogen and dissociative.

Personally I have found it the only effective cough suppressant and when I heard the studies saying it wasn't effective (or, was long past patent protection...) I immediately thought it was because pharma wanted to sell us something more expensive.

Just my perspective.

[Ms. Toad]

39. The law is specific to DXM

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0501-0550/sb_514_bill_20110831_chaptered.html

No mention of acetaminophen (and selling the product with dextromethorphan OTC to a minor would be illegal even if it contained no acetaminophen).

BTW - it is primarily the liver that acetaminophen kills; much more deadly than something that kills kidneys, since there is no dialysis or other substitute for a non-functioning liver. (sorry - "occupational" hazard - I have a daughter with a liver disease, so I obsess about such things...)

[lunatica]

3. Thanks!

I'm happy with these new laws, especially the one's for all couples, gay or straight. But the Nyquil thing is puzzling. Is the ingredient they're mentioning something used to make meth or something? If not then why make it hard for adults to buy?

[GoCubsGo]

47. Nyquil is loaded with alcohol.

It has always been a way for kids to get drunk as long as I can remember.

The alcohol is what makes you fall asleep.

On edit: I'm referring to the liquid forms of Nyquil, not the tablets.

[Logical]

5. I am 100% for Concealed Carry but I hate Open Carry.....

I think Open Carry alarms people and causes more issues that it helps.

If CA allowed Concealed Carry like most states, which means "Shall Issue" then it would solve the Open Carry need.

[alarimer]

38. I prefer to know which asshole are carrying guns so I can avoid them for the paranoid nutcases they

With concealed carry, you never know which redneck piece of shit to avoid.

[HappyMe]

44. I would rather see who is carrying a gun.

[pinto]

6. Cough syrup sales to kids banned

By JONDI GUMZ/MediaNews Group
Created: 12/27/2011 12:30:13 AM PST

On Jan. 1, California will be the first state in the nation to ban the sale of over-the-counter cold and cough medications containing dextromethorphan, known as DXM, to anyone younger than 18.

SB 514, written by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, will require store clerks to check identification for anyone buying these medications.


Taking dextromethorphan in large amounts can cause serious side effects or death, according to the National Institutes of Health.


High doses of DXM can produce intoxication, hallucinations, seizures and "out of body" sensations similar to PCP and LSD.

According to WebMD, one in 10 teens say they've used DXM to get high, making it more popular than LSD, cocaine, Ecstasy or meth.

http://www.dailydemocrat.com/ci_19624149

[tavalon]

9. Clearly, I'm not doing it right

All the DetromethorpHan does for me is calm my cough. (;

[ProdigalJunkMail]

40. probably doing it right

just not right ENOUGH...

sP

[MindPilot]

13. Now I'm confused.

I've been asked for ID on more than one occasion to buy Nyquil in the past couple of years. So the under 18 part is not new.

[pinto]

16. Yeah, ID has been a standard requirement. The under 18 part is the prescription requirement.

[Marrah_G]

25. I work at a pharmacy in MA

We cannot sell certain cough medicines, energy drinks or types of aerosols to minors. Its been that was for a while

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. Are cough syrups used to manufacture drugs, or are people using them to get drugged?

God, this is crazy. I'm all for the decriminalization of all drugs for this reason. People over 18 should be able to obtain whatever the heck they wish, for whatever reason of personal use.

[tavalon]

10. So, how many times have you gotten thrown off a jury pool?

I suspect the lawyers think I just want to get out of jury duty, but they're wrong. I would love to serve on a jury one day, but I've only ever been picked for drug cases and get kicked off after a long and incredulous (on the part of the lawyer) discussion of my radical views.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

20. I served only on a murder case, and I had tried to get out of that one, but failed

After receiving instructions from the judge, and retiring to the jury room, one of the jurors (this one very boisterous guy), said, "LET'S FRY HIM!" Until that point, I'd been bored and upset that I had to be there in the first place, but his asshole attitude fascinated me. I became the biggest nightmare he'd ever experienced in his bigoted, asshole life. I forced him to explain his views, questioned him, posted all manner of objections to his under-developed ideas, and finally told him that he was bringing his personal bigotry into the jury room. Others began to agree with me. He went silent. What began as a really convinced jury, ready to send the guy off to a bad fate and go home, became a jury that I forced to consider each and every aspect of the case. The damned thing took 3 days and we returned a verdict that had been seriously thought out and considered.

[Fumesucker]

37. That's an interesting story..

Thanks for sharing.

[tavalon]

43. That is fascinating

And the most interesting thing is you didn't tell us the outcome, only that it was seriously thought out and considered. With your help, that jury evolved into what a jury should be. No matter what the verdict was, and I for one, don't want to know, I'm grateful to you for helping your fellow jury citizens learn how to be the best citizens possible.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

45. The experience made a very good citizen out of me.

If that man hadn't said to 'fry' him, I'd probably have sat in the jury room all edgy, bored, and upset that I'd been picked for jury duty. I had tried to get out of it when interviewed and questioned during the jury selection's voir dire.

That one juror's assholish behavior peaked my interest so much, and I resolved to make damned sure his careless behavior did not send a human to death if it did not warrant it. This case ultimately ended up being what caused my change in career. I'm now a paralegal.

I'm against the death penalty, but we had received explicit instructions from the judge, and I resolved that despite my objections I would do my best. We went through that case as if with a fine tooth comb.

As to the outcome of the trial, I will tell you this, we found AGAINST the death penalty.

[pinto]

11. The new prescription requirement, if I read it right, only applies to those under 18.

[MindPilot]

14. The article I saw cleary said "prescription"

I have to go to work...no time to do a bunch of research, but like I said upthread, I know from experience the under 18 part has been in effect for some time. Maybe it was a local law, store policy or something.

[pinto]

17. Yeah, the author just left out the qualifying "for those under 18 years of age" piece of the law.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

19. Oh ok - thanks nt

[Major Nikon]

21. You can get the same effects as Nyquil with other drugs

Unisom (not the caplets) contain the same active ingredient as Nyquil for inducing sleep. The cough suppressant in Nyquil has been found to be not effective. If you need a pain/fever reducer, take a tylenol. If you need the effects of alcohol, take a shot of your favorite spirt. Voila! You get the same effect as Nyquil without feeling like you just licked an elf's ass.

[Duer 157099]

29. I don't believe the claim that DXM is not effective for coughs

I've used it for years, in it's plain form, just DXM without any other ingredients and I can anecdotally say that it works for me and my family for suppressing coughs.

I was baffled when I read the study saying it wasn't effective.

People have been taking it for decades, and I would think that if it wasn't working, people would have stopped buying it a long time ago.

[Major Nikon]

33. There's something to be said for the placebo effect

Which doctors, faith healers, decaf, and Marcus Bachmann type quacks aren't effective either. That doesn't stop people from using them.

In the case of nyquil, the other ingredients are going to suppress coughing to some degree because it makes you sleepy and relaxes you.

[Duer 157099]

34. Totally agree about placebo, cannot argue there

However in the case specifically of DXM for me, it has been with pure DXM that I've gotten cough relief. So it's not the other stuff in Nyquil, in my case. And if it was placebo, that's fine with me, it stopped my coughing and at the time, that was all that mattered to me.

[DFab420]

27. Ummmm you realize you are wrong right?

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=23779

"Simitian revived the bill again this year and it passed overwhelmingly. The passage means that starting on Jan. 1, store clerks will have to check customers' IDs to make sure they are 18 or older before they can purchase cough and cold medicines containing DXM.
"

FFS can we not over react about every fucking thing on this board?

[WillowTree]

35. Killjoy!!

Sometimes I think that overreacting is the only exercise some people around here get.

[MindPilot]

42. Fuck you too.

Come back when you can have an intelligent conversation.

[MindPilot]

41. Always some asshole has to get in the last word

YES I REALIZE I WAS WRONG.

[tawadi]

36. Just have a couple shots of Irish Whiskey