alt Hacker News> It makes me wonder if it'd be quicker and easier to just buy meth and reintroduce the hydroxyl group to get my cold medicine.
Relevant: “A Simple and Convenient Synthesis of Pseudoephedrine from Meth” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33444852 https://maggiemcneill.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/synthes...
Just crazy, isn't it? Nothing could be better proof that drug laws are both ill conceived and ineffective than when otherwise lawful people are forced to consider converting easily available but highly illicit meth into a medicine that's much needed by millions because it's essentially unavailable through stupidity.
If aliens were to visit they'd likely bypass contact on grounds that the planet's inhabitants are low-IQ nut cases.