alt Hacker NewsI found out recently that you don't just need a decent government ID; it needs to be from the state you're purchasing the Sudafed from, because apparently each state administers its own database. If you run out and have a persistent cough (weakened immune system from not licking doorknobs the last few years of covid, or so do the doctor says) from a common cold while on vacation, you're shit out of luck unless you go back home or you and an accomplice are willing to procure your cough medicine with their license.
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Here in Vietnam it's completely impossible to get pseudoephedrine at all and I think it's the same in all Asian countries. I even resorted to trying to buy some ephedra tea (Chinese medicinal herb from which ephedrine was first discovered). I ordered a box of tea bags from Shopee.vn and rather amusingly received an envelope with the amount I had paid including shipping in cash and an apology letter saying they could no longer sell this herb and please don't leave a bad review.
However, a few months earlier due to a Google translate mixup where I thought I was ordering peppermint oil, I got 100ml of sassafras oil [0]. It's a precursor to MDMA and at least as restricted as pseudoephedrine.
Seems like it varies by state - I’ve purchased Sudafed in at least two states other than my own.
My WAT.
Refused sale of Sudafed because my license was expired. Apparently I accidentally tossed my new license and kept the old one. Doh! However they happily refilled my schedule III meds with the expired license.
As I said WAT.
That's not universally applicable, as I've purchased it in Washington plenty of times with an Oregon ID.
I've purchased Sudafed in Nevada with a foreign drivers' license with no issues.
I’ve definitely purchased Sudafed in Seattle with a Virginia Drivers License.
Once again, big thanks to paranoid "mark of the beast" conspiracy theorists with funny ideas about federal government IDs and digital IDs.
We have the technology. "Behind the counter" could just mean a vending machine with good ID tech instead of queuing up for an overworked pharmacist behind a dozen people.
> you don't just need a decent government ID; it needs to be from the state you're purchasing the Sudafed from
The FDA rule on this [1] doesn't appear to be quite that strict: it says the ID can be "a photo identification card issued by the State or the Federal Government or a document that is considered acceptable by the seller". It doesn't explicitly say it has to be from the same state as the one in which you are buying the medication, and it leaves the seller some latitude in what to accept.
Possibly some states have more restrictive rules. Or particular sellers might be more leery about what they are willing to accept.
[1] https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-drug-class/legal-requi...