Methamphetamine: Feds Make First Cold Medicine Bust Under Combat Meth Act
An Ontario, New York, man last Friday won the dubious distinction of being the first person arrested under the 2005 Combat Meth Epidemic Act. According to a DEA press release, William Fousse was arrested for purchasing cold tablets containing more than nine grams of pseudoephedrine within a one month period.
Busted for Bronkaid
Products containing these chemicals are now kept behind the counter. In order to purchase them, one must show identification and sign a log book at pharmacies. DEA and state and local law enforcement monitor those logbooks to see if anyone is buying amounts over the limit.
"This is a first for DEA," crowed DEA Western New York Special Agent in Charge John Gilbride. "DEA's focus is to dismantle clandestine methamphetamine labs and trafficking organizations and to also monitor the products that are illegally used to produce methamphetamine. DEA is committed to keeping our communities safe from the dangers of methamphetamine production and abuse. Today's arrest is a warning to those who violate the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act."
Fousse is alleged to have purchased more than 400 Bronkaid tablets containing a total of more than 29 grams of ephedrine during the month of January -- more than three times the legal limit -- at one pharmacy and to have purchased a like amount at two others. It was a call from the first pharmacist to the DEA's Buffalo office that set the wheels in motion.
DEA agents visited Fousse at his home on February 13. According to a police affidavit, Fousse said he was unaware of the law, was not selling the pills to meth cooks, and was using the stuff himself. That was not good enough for the DEA and federal prosecutors. He faces a May 1 court date.
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redditMeth bust
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/06/2007 - 5:44pmWouldn't have been simpler to write a law requiring a prescription for these "precursors"?,,,,,,,,,,,,no, that wouldn't do. The pharmaceutical companies make a nice buck marketing often useless across-the-counter preparations. And besides, we're grown up around here and know that idiotic laws that give the DEA and it's sister SS goons more power are just the ticket for hungry politicians and a lazy media.
What Land of the Free?
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 3:18amWhat's happened to freedom in the US?
Its all about exercising their authority.
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 10:57am"Today's arrest is a warning to those who violate the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act."
And that is the point. It really matters not if he was or wasn't using them innapropriately. What matters is that people KNOW that Big Government is watching their purchases and WILL arrest them if they purchase anything suspect.
Thanks big brother
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 7:16pmNow I know that people have to recover from a cold naturally! No more of this medicine BS.
I knew the government was good for something :>D
Sudafedrin laws
Comment posted by Amandaline on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 11:47pmWhat about people with diagnosed chronic sinus and respitory problems, whose doctors are prescribing the medication for them. Does big brother, know better than the GP and an independant ENT, plus multiple concerring medical opinions. Is that what they will do if the fix health care, replace the insurance companies who come between the doctor and patient for the sake of profits, with the government who will come between the doctor and the patient for the sake of fighting their drug war, which in the past 70 years, they have not succeeded in ending. I know it was not called the "Drug War" until the past 25 years or so, but the laws outlawing drugs really began, when prohibition ended. I suppose the gangsters needed something to replace their losses, when prohition was repealed.
I am so against recreational drug use, you cannot imagine. I grew up in the seventies and people called me a prude, a priss, a snitch and everything else. If my neighbor was running a "meth lab" I would turn that neighbor in to the police, before the guy could complete a quarter of a blink,
but this law is bad.
The Sudafedrine laws are bad laws:
They do not take into account, persons with chronic medical conditions, seasonal medical conditions, persons with disabilities, care givers who buy for their entire family ( who are mostly women), people preparing to travel, people stocking there house hold evacuation kits for natural disasters or in the case of terrorism.
The law discriminates against persons with sinus and respitory diseases and it also is discriminatory against women as well.
Bad law is bad law.
I Like Ephedrine
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sun, 04/08/2007 - 5:56amI like to use ephedrine for medicinal purposes. i think It's sad that just because dumbass pple turn it into meth that everyone suffers. That just proves that the DEA sucks! Peace!
Police state.
Comment posted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/09/2007 - 11:13amThis law has just increased the amount of meth produced other ways and given the dea an excuse to prosecute relatively innocent people. Then they can confiscate their money and properties even before a trial thanks to drug laws.
Have a great day! Do it! >:-]
I hate this law
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/20/2007 - 7:08pmI have chronic allergies and must take a decongestant/antihistamine every day. Until this law was passed I was happy to take Claritin-D daily, but now each time I go to the counter, I am treated like a criminal. Not only that, but sometimes the pharmacy doesn't have the 15-pill boxes and will sell me a 5- or 10- pill box. Since the pharmacy limits me to two boxes per month (regardless of the quantity) and since there are approximately 30 days in each month, I am forced to go to another pharmacy (which is a huge inconvenience) and/or do without.
I finally got fed up with the system and insisted that my doctor write me a prescription. I now take Allegra-D every day, at a cost of more than $100/month to my insurance company and $25/month to me.
I would very much like to kick the legislators who wrote this law in the nuts (or worse). What a bunch of fucking idiots.
Sudafedrine laws
Comment posted by Amandaline on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 10:27pmYou are more fortunate than I. I cannot take Allegra, so I am stuck with no medicine for my allergies, sinus condition, respitory problem and Asthma, all of which are Chronic. Both My GP and my ENT used to have me taking Claretin D24 daily as well as an additional Sudafed daily. When my BP went up, they reduced the Sudafed to if needed when as when I fly or if I am having a particularly bad day and the PE is not effective enough. That said, even with a prescription for the Claretin D24 and a history of prescriptions for it, I cannot always get what I need and as prescribed. especially if I am traveling or if my home has flooded and some medicnes have fallen into the waters or been soaked after a water pipe has burst, event with documentation from FEMA, the police and insurance companies.
I too am treated like a crimminal, for attempting to treat my medical disabilities. I am trying to get the ACLU to act on the behalf of persons with disabilities.
The laws also unfairly target women as women still do most of the care giving in this nation and are still more apt to be buying cold medicines for their families.
Anyone who is interested in joining my efforts please contact me at Amandaline123@aol.com
Ignorance of the law is no excuse...
Comment posted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/07/2007 - 6:10amI find it quite telling, that this poor guy had no knowledge of the limits. You see, they don't post the monthly limit at pharmacies. A daily limit of 3.6G is what is seen at the counter but no mention of the monthly amount.
This bust isn't about stopping meth. It's about creating statistics. I've just learned about this limit and was doing research and found this article, somewhat belatedly. Perhaps too late, as I may very well be in the same boat. No. I'm not making meth. Not selling pills to people who do either. It's cheap asthma control. I'm a roofer and trust me, if you have breathing difficulties, there's no better option. Not at my salary.
I live in NY stae and the odds of coming into contact with meth here, is roughly the same as getting hit by a meteorite. It's just not here. Seriously, that stuff has been on the streets for about 40 years. If it was going to hit this state, it would have. No... It's not about stopping meth. It's about STARTING it up. A year ago, nobody around here had even heard of meth. Now, it's a hot topic. What better way to advertise something, than to make it sensasionalist news. To clandestinely pass laws and arrest people for breaking those laws without their knowledge?
Ignorance of the law is no excuse? ya think?
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sun, 05/13/2007 - 12:13pmThan why do you need a lawyer to interpret the law.
meth
Comment posted by hydro9177 on Wed, 06/06/2007 - 9:45pmWell, this will just make the meth. cooks send dozens of people to pharmacies, buying a box at time. Brilliant.
PHARMACIES SHOULD WARN BUYERS
Comment posted by Anonymous on Tue, 07/10/2007 - 12:32amSEEMS TO ME LIKE THE PHARMACIES SHOULD BE MADE TO WARN PEOPLE WHEN THEY ARE ABOUT TO GO OVER THE LIMIT!! THIS SHOULD BE WHY THEY KEEP LOGS, NOT TO MAKE INNOCENT PEOPLE INTO CRIMINALS...
Some of us have no choice
Comment posted by Anonymous on Tue, 03/04/2008 - 5:57pmLike others mentioned above, I too have chronic allergies and take over the counter meds because my doc WON'T write me a prescription for something I can/am supposed to be able to buy over the counter.
My husband was sick this month, so I went over my limit. I have no idea what the limit is or when the limit is reset, so in the mean time, I have to go without.
This law has helped to catch ONE meth head while the rest of us are suffering!!
As a teacher, I wonder how the law makers would like it if I use that type of reasoning with their children in school.... "I'm sorry, no one will get to use the pencil sharpener because someone might turn it into a weapon....:"
Sudafedrine laws
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 10:46pmI do not know which state you are in, but here in NYS, even with a prescription, which medicare does not cover, but I am willing to pay out of pocket for the right to breath a little bit better and get my peak flow meter up to a wopping 250, yet even with the prescription the pharmicist said they could not sell it too me. How can I possibly trust the government to handle health care in a way, which will be in my best interest, when I cannot even get the medication, which I am supposed to be taking, as recommend by both my GP and an ENT, who has a totoally independant practice from the GP, with several counties of distance between them.
I am hearing this same complaint from Asthmetics, allergy suffers and people with chronic sinus conditions. It is even endangering lives. Packing an emergency evacuation kit and stocking it with the medications you will need as recommended by both the American Red Cross and the government itself, is not even possible.
Traveling has become a night mare. In order to get enough medicine for a three week cruise or a three week stay in a third world nation or a three week camping trip in the extreme wilderness etc, I have to skip doses of prescribed medical treatments, so that I risk getting seriously ill at home near my doctor and hospital, rather than when and where, I would be in more jeopardy of becoming ill with fewer resources for help in an emergency.
We, those of use with chronic sinus troubles of all types, need to come together and address this, before this law results in the death of someone, who cannot get the medicine in which they are in need.
Jenny, You sound like a
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sat, 10/18/2008 - 6:45amJenny,
You sound like a complete asshole!!! If he was using legal pills appropriately, then why should he be punished severely?
Counting Down to the Next Sinus Surgery...
Comment posted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/05/2009 - 2:03pmCongratulations DEA, America is now officially the land of the persecuted. I sit here with a sinue infection, unable to breathe and afraid to use my last expired pseudoephedrines. I remember when I used my last expired phenylpropanolamine--I was so desperate to breathe... While pseudoephedrine is nowhere near as effective phenylpropanolamine, at least it did something. Now I must choose whether to sleep for the first time in a week or to continue hacking up and sneezing out flourescent pus for another day.
A bunch of idiots.
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sun, 02/22/2009 - 8:13pmSeroiusly you guys are either stupid or dillusional to think he was using this legit. If he bought 400 tabs at multiple pharmacies, lets say that means 3, then he is going through 40 tabs per day. The box says max 6 tabs per day. Oh but I'm sure there was a good reason to take it at nearly 7 times the reccomended dose. And I am sure the DEA would use their discretion if this was a family of ten with asthma.
Then why was an Indiana
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 10:55pmThen why was an Indiana grandmother arrested for going over her allottment because she bought a box for her husband and a box for her grown daughter of two different medicnes ( not everyone can take the same medicines).
Why was another woman in Indiana arrested when here seasonal allergy use put her over the limit.
If they were using such discresion, why are these ladies under arrest.
Why can't I get the medication I need, even when I have a prescription for the over the counter product?
Why if I leave the country on vacation in the middle of the month and will need a supply to last into the following month, can I not get the medications I am supposed to be taking as prescribed by both my GP and an idependant ENT?
WTF?
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/25/2009 - 3:34pmAlright, I use Bronkaid for asthma on a regular basis. The monthly limit is 9 grams. Bronkaid comes in 25 mg tabs. That's 360 tabs per month (in a 30 days month), which equates to 12 tabs per day. I can't imagine why someone would need to take more than that. Even on the worst days, 4 - 6 tabs is sufficient, and I'm stuck wide awake until 2am. Anyone needing more than 12 of these per day needs to have their condition diagnosed by a physician and begin seeking out alternative methods of relief. Having said all of that, I believe the government is overstepping some boundaries here. It should be the responsibility of the pharmacy to limit the sell of products if they are keeping a logs. Instead of calling the DEA, the pharmacist should have simply told the guy, "Hey there's a 9 gram monthly limit, I can't sell you any more of this." I'm not necessarily against the laws in place to regulate the sell of the product, but they shouldn't be used to persecute people.
fucked up government.
Comment posted by Anonymous on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 5:07pmthis government is fucked up. period
"WE THE PEOPLE" NEED TO REFORM THIS FUCKED UP GOVERMENT.
As A fellow ex-meth user, and having athsma ...
Comment posted by Cary McSorley on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 1:57pmThis is bs, yes I am against meth manufacture, and you can turn $900 into $3000 with psudeo to meth, there are over 300 ways to manufacture d-methamfetamine, pestacides, p2p(phenlprop) epedrine, phenly groups ect... so why crack down on just one? anyway having been clean for years i relize meth is sick, but there many other things we can do to stop this abuse maybe, have a junkie police that stop people at checkpoints tolook at peoples arms for track marks from needles and then beat them frantlickly :D
a friend of Bill's
Comment posted by N. Meaedow on Sat, 10/10/2009 - 11:45pmSeeing as that I truly am a friend of Bill's (actually 2 of them) , perhaps some of
you people who agree with the law and those that don't , might want to know
exactly what kind of person he really is.................I was working with him at the
time of his "capture" . If you would like a response on here , just ask a question .
I will be happy to answer .
Appropriate Use
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/06/2007 - 2:56pmThey should still have to prove he was using them inappropriately... That should have
been written into the bill.