Why is l-methamphetamine an over-the-counter drug in the United States?

[Trogdor]

There is a nifty nasal decongestant product available for sale at practically every pharmacy I've seen, called the Vicks Inhaler. On the packaging it lists the active ingredient as 50 mg of 'levmetamfetamine', however I know that this is actually the L stereoisomer of methamphetamine. The Controlled Substance Act clearly states that "methamphetamine, its salts, isomers, and salts of its isomers" are listed as Schedule II substances. Do stereoisomers not legally count as 'isomers'? If so, why is d-methamphetamine (also known as the ADD medication 'Desoxyn') Schedule II? If somebody were to gather a large quantity of inhalers and extract the meth out *without chemically altering the drug*, would they be guilty of manufacturing a controlled substance? Even though what they actually possess is a legally obtained OTC drug? I must be missing a huge piece to the puzzle.

 

[Trogdor]

I also find it extremely ironic that Vicks recently removed the highly effective nasal decongestant pseudoephedrine from their popular NyQuil cough syrup since it could possibly be used in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine, yet anyone can legally purchase Vicks-branded methamphetamine at practically any pharmacy.

 

[TheLoveBandit]

HOMELESS to OD (mods move it if there's a better home, but I'm kinda likin' OD lately, so here's another present).

 

[rocklobster]

Eat the cotton, and you'll see why it's legal. It's not exactly recreational.

 

[johanneschimpo]

I don't know if it would be illegal to extract the l-methamp from the inhalers, but I believe it is illegal to extract codeine from pills, such as the 8mg/APAP/caff ones, even if bought OTC (such as in Canada, UK, anywhere but the US)
And it is interesting that l-amp is somewhat excluded as an 'isomer' in the CSA, I'd like to get to the bottom of that too, perhaps some sort of loophole or at least a flaw in the Act.
Psuedoephedrine can be used to make meth (d-meth, that is), while l-methamp cannot, the reasoning for pulling it is that simple in their eyes (correct or not, I'm not passing judgement)

 

[dankhead88]

Only time if I use l-methamphetamine is if I need to clear my nose to snort d-amphetamine, but yeah, correct me if I'm wrong, but l-meth cannot cross the BBB right? Which explains why it's not so recreational.

 

[1776]

is that kind of along the lines of the benzedrex inhalers?

 

[Sandbag]

Only time if I use l-methamphetamine is if I need to clear my nose to snort d-amphetamine, but yeah, correct me if I'm wrong, but l-meth cannot cross the BBB right? Which explains why it's not so recreational.

Not sure about the BBB issue; but yeah, the levo isomer of meth is weaksauce. Coffee is more fun IMO... Possibilty to alter the structure to dex may exist though I always went from pseudeph/eph for synth purposes...

 

[Trogdor]

I figured it out.

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi...E=21&PART=1308&SECTION=22&YEAR=2000&TYPE=TEXT

l-methamphetamine was explicitly excluded from controlled substance scheduling as it was deemed to be 'nonnarcotic'.

 

[johanneschimpo]

so according to that link you can also get phenobarbital and chloral hydrate over the counter? (not that they are recreational)

 

[Sandbag]

Everybody doesnt have the skills to be at the top of the game only the chosen few.

I know you want bluelighter status; but please find something informative or at least entertaining to say.

 

[ANewKindOfArmy]

I was watching some show on the history channel today called " Hooked: Illegal Drugs And How They Got There, Marijuana And Amphets' ". They were sayin back in the 70s people would open up the Inhaler things and put the cotton in their coffee or just swallow it down, is this the same deal as the vicks ones you guys are talkin about?

 

[Trogdor]

No, that was the benzedrine inhaler, which contained dl-amphetamine (a mix of both the d and l isomers). Not quite the same thing at all.


I saw the same show though, the History Channel has some good shows about drugs.

 

[TheodoreRoosevelt]

I know you want bluelighter status; but please find something informative or at least entertaining to say.

Haha yea, what the fuck are you talking about fuckyou259. You make no sense at all.

Alot of drugs fall into the Federal Analogue Act, and you could theoretically get charged with a crime for the most trivial stuff. It's pretty much up to the discretion of the government , but basically don't sell or use substances that can get you high unless you have a doctor's permission.

 

[xxl]

I-methamphetamine is one of the two isomers. Are you sure the l-isomer is active? Could be that only the d-isomer is active enough to have a recreational value.

 

[Trogdor]

l-methamphetamine has nothing to do with the Analogue Act - according to the Controlled Substance Act, it is a scheduled substance.

However, as I've already said, it has been explicitly descheduled through the Code of Federal Regulations, title 21, section 1308.22.



And yes, l-methamphetamine is active as a central nervous system stimulant, *however*, the amount of drug you would need to take to reach the same level of mental stimulation as the d-isomer would probably kill you. It is, above all else, a cardiovascular stimulant with very little (though not non-existent) recreational value.

 

[Astavats]

^Is the reason l-methamphetamine will kill you at higher doses needed to compare to d-methamphetamine because it is a "cardiovascular stimulant", or is there another reason to it?

I'm just piecing what you said, trying to understand. I'm not good in chemistry/pharmacology, but I am trying to learn.

 

[Trogdor]

Honestly, I've been trying to piece everything together myself. That a 'tweak' dose of l-meth would probably kill you, that statement was an assumption based on everything I've read so far, however this seems to indicate otherwise:

The pharmacokinetics of the methamphetamine enantiomers are similar, but there are substantial pharmacodynamic differences between the isomers. At high doses, l-methamphetamine intoxication is similar to that of d-methamphetamine, but the psychodynamic effects are shorter-lived and less desired by abusers. Racemic and d-methamphetamine have similar effects and would be expected to have comparable abuse liabilities.

I guess the real reason that Vicks Inhalers are legal must be because Proctor & Gamble have lobbyists.

 

[Astavats]

^Thanks for the clarification - just wondering, nice to know =)

 

[sonic]

Eat the cotton, and you'll see why it's legal. It's not exactly recreational.

He's talking about a vicks stick. Not the benzidrex inhaler, which does have a psycho-active chemical in it. As people have mentioned, l-methamphetamine doesn't cross the BBB.