Lynne Kiesling
Over at the Adam Smith Institute, Megan Rudebeck speaks truth about the cough syrup restrictions that are now all the rage in the US. She comments on a proposed piece of legislation that would create a national cough syrup registry:
The only thing this legislation will do is create a nuisance for consumers and business owners. So pharmacies all over the United States use a sign in sheet. How will independent businesses all over the country collaborate in order to figure out if an individual has bought more than three boxes of Sudafed in a month, providing that individual is even using their real identity? The lawmakers who are proposing this legislation are from the same body that decided that emergency contraception could not be offered behind-the-counter because pharmacies did not have the facilities to keep it under lock and key. This proposal, however, requires even more involvement from pharmacy staff just to dispense ordinary cold medicine. Funny how that changed so quickly.
In this as in so many other issues, when will US policymakers learn that such restrictions do not reduce use?