If you're like me, you've all but given up using Sudafed when you have allergies or a cold. That's because you have to sign a lot of ridiculous paperwork with a pharmacist just to get some Advil Cold & Sinus.
According to Bridget Johnson, all that rigamarole to get some Sudafed isn't curbing meth labs (who, I'm sure, were buying the 24 cap Sudafed for this purpose).
According to the National Drug Intelligence Center’s 2007 National Drug Threat Assessment, ‘Marked success in decreasing domestic methamphetamine production through law enforcement pressure and strong precursor chemical sales restrictions has enabled Mexican (drug trafficking organizations) to rapidly expand their control over methamphetamine distribution - even in eastern states - as users and distributors who previously produced the drug have sought new, consistent sources.’
Additionally, the flow of ‘ice’ - highly concentrated meth that is usually smoked - from Mexico has increased sharply, most likely creating more addicts because of the better high it creates, states the report.
So while lawmakers have focused on regulating sniffling customers at drugstore counters, Mexican cartels have monopolized the gaps left in the meth market, bringing their goods - and guns - across a porous border. ‘Now, approximately 80 percent of all meth purchased in the U.S. originates from Mexican labs,’ U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a May address at the National Methamphetamine and Chemicals Initiative Strategy Conference.
It's still a border issue but don't tell anyone or else you'll be labelled a racist.
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