Another Useless Drug Law

Gov. Bob Taft signed a bill Thursday limiting the sale of pseudoephedrine, a decongestant used to make methamphetamine. This is the latest attempt by the government to make drug prohibition work. This law goes into effect this May. At that time, if one wishes to purchase anything with pseudoephdrine (the active ingredient in many decongestants), they must, buy it from a pharmacist (a prescription is not required), show one’s ID, and sign a log that the police and other government agencies will have access to. So now it is the government’s business if one can’t fall asleep because of a cold.

As a Libertarian, I am going to do something weird; I will not write a rebuttal. I will not site any examples of previous failures of the drug war. I will not talk about how our basic rights to privacy are being eroded away (ok, maybe a little). Instead, I am going to use direct quotes from a drug warrior who pushed for this law.

Clermont County Sheriff A. J. "Tim'' Rodenberg Jr. had this to say in the Cincinnati Enquirer, “It's a step in the right direction. Any little bit helps." But he also adds, "If someone wants it bad enough and they're addicted to meth ... I think there's certainly a possibility that could provoke more incidents." What kind of incidents is Sheriff Rodenberg referring?

Bryan Hutcheson, owner of Bryan's Family Pharmacy in Lebanon told the Enquirer in that article that he is worried that there will be more robberies at drug stores.

So we now have a law that will

1. Not Work
2. Increase Crime
3. Erode our civil liberties
4. Make it harder for you to buy cold medicine to help get a good nights sleep

Now I wonder if my pharmacist has an over-the-counter drug for my blood that is starting to boil.