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| Angelika/Mike Schilli |
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Angelika Michael has in However, the sentence seems incomplete. Could you provide more context or the rest of the sentence for a more accurate translation? Rundbrief 11/2006 The throat patch Sudafed PE was indeed rated as a junk product. Back then, we thought the poor quality was due to its administration as a strip instead of the proven pill form. Recently, however, a colleague of Michael mentioned that he was getting tired of always having to show his ID when buying the original "Sudafed" to combat his chronic sinus problems. Hmm, that made us suspicious, and I went to the drugstore chain "Walgreens" to get to the bottom of it.
First, you need to know that neither Sudafed nor Sudafed PE are prescription drugs in America. Over-the-counter medications are typically available on the shelves in drugstores and supermarkets in America, just like toothpaste. The customer grabs the medication and goes to any checkout counter in the store to pay. For prescription medications, however, you need to hand over the doctor's prescription at a counter, and the medication is retrieved by employees from shelves behind the counter, similar to German pharmacies. But now back to my Walgreens research. So, I diligently searched the aisles with the medications for Sudafed and quickly found Sudafed PE in box form. However, for the original Sudafed, there was only a card in the shelf, which stated that you should take it to the "pharmacy counter." I handed the card to the friendly lady behind the counter, who then asked me for an ID. So, I dug out my California driver's license, which she swiped through the register using the magnetic strip. Then she typed something into the computer, I had to sign, and finally, I was allowed to pay for and take the Sudafed with me.
Now you might be wondering what all this nonsense is about. The active ingredient is the key to the mystery. The original Sudafed contains "pseudoephedrine," which can be relatively easily used to produce the drug methamphetamine (also known as meth or crystal), while Sudafed PE contains the active ingredient phenylephrine, which cannot be used for that purpose.
To prevent meth addicts from buying large quantities of Sudafed to brew their drug in the back room, the purchase of products containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine has recently been regulated in the USA. The law, "The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act," made this possible on a national level after some states had already been practicing similar regulations for some time. Since September 2006, each customer is allowed to buy only 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine or ephedrine per week or 9 grams per month. Hence the fuss about showing my ID and registering how much Sudafed I bought and when. The drug "meth" has spread epidemically in the USA. It has a strong stimulating effect and causes large amounts of the neurotransmitter "dopamine" to be released, leading to euphoric states of happiness. The problem is that people become addicted to the stuff and can no longer experience feelings of happiness without the drug because the dopamine receptors in the brain are damaged. Strokes, nerve damage, psychoses, and rotting teeth are also not uncommon with prolonged abuse. As a deterrent, television here often shows photos of meth addicts. If nothing easily fazes you, take a look at the... The Wikipedia page onthe topic "Meth Mouth The German phrase "Mahlzeit!" can be translated to English as "Meal time!" or simply "Enjoy your meal!" It is often used as a casual greeting around lunchtime in German-speaking countries.
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