New in PJ Media:
Big government is so comprehensively useless and needlessly intrusive that even when it does something that seems on the surface to be a good and needed measure, it all too often turns out to be just making matters worse. That was the case on Tuesday, when the FDA declared that phenylephrine, a decongestant found in popular brands including Sudafed PE and DayQuil, doesn’t work. It has actually been public knowledge for years that phenylephrine didn’t work, but the government previously forced it upon us by restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine, which does work but can be used to make meth. Penalizing law-abiding citizens in order to take ineffective measures against the manufacture of illicit drugs? That’s Washington all over.
MedPage Today reported Tuesday that “all 16 voting members of the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee at a meeting held on September 11 and 12 voted against the drug,” that is, phenylephrine, “being effective for nasal congestion when used as labeled.” The Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee is part of the FDA. But why was this ineffective drug being used in the first place? Because of the same FDA.
The FDA’s website still contains a page entitled “Legal Requirements for the Sale and Purchase of Drug Products Containing Pseudoephedrine, Ephedrine, and Phenylpropanolamine.” This page has apparently been there for quite some time, as it explains the significance of the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 as if it were a new measure. That act banned “over-the-counter sales of cold medicines that contain ingredients that are commonly used to make methamphetamine such as pseudoephedrine.” One could still get decongestants that contained pseudoephedrine, but only in limited amounts, as buying them in large amounts was considered to be a sign that someone was making meth.
In setting up this rule, the FDA openly stated that it was disregarding the health and well-being of ordinary, law-abiding Americans. The “Legal Requirements” webpage includes a Q&A that features this question: “I have chronic sinus problems. Will I be limited from getting the amount of pseudoephedrine I need?” The answer is brutally forthright: “Yes, with this new law there will be limits on the number of tablets of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine that can be purchased in a 30-day period. As there are many different dosages and formulations of these products, you should ask your pharmacist how much you will be allowed to purchase over a 30-day period for specific product you use.” In other words, we don’t care if you’re suffering, you’re not going to get more than a trickle of pseudoephedrine. Blow your nose, peasant.
There is more. Read the rest here.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Since I’m not a biologist, I used to just believe anything from the government TLAs as far as health went – the FDA, CDC, NIH…. However, after not just the Covid-19 saga but also the statement from the CDC a few weeks ago that it’s okay for men to “chest-feed” infants w/ liquids that are hardly milk but heavily those estrogen producing hormones, they have all lost any credibility that they had w/ me. I guess that long term, I’d have to join the ranks of people like Steve Jobs who made decisions on their own medication, even if it ended up killing them
somehistory says
I, too, once took them at their word; but that has drastically changed and I know they are full of lies for their own need to control the rest of us.
James Lincoln says
Infidel,
Up until fairly recently, the CDC, FDA, NIH, etc., used to put out trustworthy information.
No more – and that is tragic for physicians trying to find factual evidence-based information.
William Kemmler says
“Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005”
And eighteen years later the “Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005” has done nothing to steam or stop the methamphetamine epidemic as most of the illicit drugs in the United States are now manufactured overseas (in China) and other countries and brought into our country at will by the cartels through the Southern Border.
But be that as it may. The FDA will never pull the “generally safe & effective” classification from phenylephrine. There’s just too much money to be made by the pharmaceutical companies for marketing to the public a product that they’ve always known to be ineffective for preventing/reducing nasal congestion.
somehistory says
I am one who has year round sinus problems. I have found that Mucinex works best for me when things are at their worst. And the worst can last for weeks, so more than one box is needed in order to breathe and limit face pain.
I would never even think of making meth….if I knew how; and having to show my id to buy medicine I need has always seemed like an unnecessary intrusion.
One pharmacy chain keeps the med locked in a safe and only opens it when they decide to sometime during working hours. A person must go there and wait for the safe to be opened in order to buy the medicine, and then can only have one box.
Just as guns are used by criminals to threaten, wound and kill, medicines are used by criminals to make an illegal drug that kills.
But, in both cases, it’s the law-abiding who are targeted with the laws.
James Lincoln says
Some history,
And all the while, fentanyl is pouring in from the southern border virtually unchecked.
A US border patrol agent recently stated that only about 25% of this poison is being stopped at the border.
somehistory says
James, we who are paying attention, could label this a conspiracy to destroy society….while making huge profits… so they can remake it in their foul image.
somehistory says
James, a very sad account.
“1-Yr-Old Dead, 3 Other Kids Hospitalized in Daycare Disaster”
“A1-year-old child is dead and three other children have been rushed to a hospital after possibly ingesting fentanyl at a daycare in New York City, according to the New York Post. The kids reportedly ate something around 1 p.m. before lying down for their naps, and they were found unresponsive when it was time to wake up an hour-and-a-half later.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/1-yr-old-dead-3-other-kids-hospitalized-in-daycare-disaster/ar-AA1gMR2I?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=bc8d850bd46a49ba907b63194a6113af&ei=39
James Lincoln says
Tragic beyond tragic, somehistory.
terry says
Those making the laws are profiting along with the crooked cartels they manage in all black market activities; as well as making huge profits raping the West, exploiting the rest! They are the Globalist Elites of the West, the Marxist, the Islamist, AND all their cartels, hordes of zombies, and their world-wide-web of Foundations! Twisted perverts and simple-minded cretins, who love the violence of rape, pillage, and plunder! Sick sociopaths, psychopaths dreaming to rule and own the world! This is their mark of the system of their beast!
Ted says
A decent chemist can synthesize meth without buying dozens of boxes of cold medication; but it’s a little harder.
In the meantime, people with allergies suffer. A friend of mine is limited to 15 pills per month where the recommended dosage is one a day, so she asked her friends that do not have allergies to buy pills for her, especially during the summer months, so she has enough.