Left or Right – Bruce and Stewart sound off

Bruce Pierce says ...

They are at it Again

It has come up again Law Enforcement is trying to persuade Legislators to make Pseudoephedrine a prescription drug.  What are they thinking, haven’t they heard there is a Healthcare Crisis in this Country?  First let’s talk about the people this will hurt.  Pseudoephedrine is very effective at relieving allergy and cold symptoms allowing those that can’t afford to see a Doctor to get relief.  Making it prescription only will increase the amount of people that need to see a limited number of Doctors, raising the cost of going to the Doctor.  Overburdening Hospital Emergency systems because people can’t afford to see the Doctor, adds to Hospital costs.  Add to the burden Pharmacies already have, requiring them to hire more Pharmacists to dispense the drug, do the paperwork and stock the drugs differently, will also add to the costs.  All this making it so the people that need it the most will not have access to an effective home remedy that is now available to them.  Now let’s see who this will actually help.  Law Enforcement will need a bigger budget so they can “combat” the problem as more officers and equipment will be required to enforce the new law.  The drug dealers' history shows that those that want to get something illegal will get it -- killing if they have to, no gain there.  Because it’s harder for them to get one of the ingredients they get to raise the price of the product and its distribution.  Causing more crime in the long run, sometimes I wonder if Law Enforcement and the Criminals have an “understanding”.  The Legislators that enacted the new law get to pat themselves on the back saying “see we fixed” the problem, then realize there is a bigger problem that needs to get “fixed” so they make more common household products harder to obtain. In the long run who gets the “shaft”? We the People, we have to pay more taxes to support the “war on drugs”, they started, pay more for something that was readily available and put up with more crime.  Can you see the self serving vicious circle created by all this?  I can.  Don’t get me wrong Drug abuse is a disruptive and destructive waste.  If I actually thought that making it illegal would stop it I would be all for it.  Recent history says something different, you can pour all kinds of money and resources against drugs and it only gets worse.  Making something as simple as Pseudoephedrine a prescription only drug would make things much worse.