In the state of Illinois you might have found that buying over the counter cold medication has become a real hassle. Perhaps you have approached the back wall of a pharmacy only to find that the Sudafed you were looking for is now behind the counter. You reach the counter only to discover you need to have identification to buy this drug.

So why is it that now you have to give them your I.D to buy something that anyone was able to buy in the past? Well, if you can believe it for your own safety. A couple of years ago the lawmakers of Illinois got together and decided to approve the monitoring of all drugs containing pseudoephedrine. Not sure what pseudoephedrine is? Let’s make sure you are aware.

Pseudoephedrine is a drug used to make a more harmful drug called meth-amphetamines. This is a very seriously addictive drug. You might hear news programs where they are talking about crystal meth and if so then they are talking about the same kinds of ingredients that are used in some of the over the counter medicine that you have to go behind a pharmacy for.

So how does this work? Well you give a pharmacy technician your id and they run the drivers license number through the computer and it comes up with whatever pseudoephedrine products you have recently. This is because there is now a limit on the amount you are allowed to purchase. For instance you might by a 24 back of Claritin D but you cannot buy another 24 pack in the same day. All of your purchases are stored in a log and monitored and reviewed by the state. You can choose not have your purchases monitored but then you have to choose not purchase that product.

The manufacturers of these drugs are now coming out with pseudoephedrine free versions of these drugs. You have to make the determination on which drug will work best for you but understand that the law is there in the fight against illegal drugs.