Pseudophedrine is a decongestant that is mostly commonly sold as Sudafed, but is also included with the antihistamine Loratadine (Claritin) to form Claritin-D. The D, not surprisingly, stands for Decongestant.
In early 2006 (March 6, according to the wiki page), Claritin-D and its generic equivalents were moved from the aisle to behind the counter. In accordance with federal law, pharmacies are required to keep records for 2 years for everyone who purchases this controlled substance, and people are only allowed to purchase it in limited quantities. Hilariously, this law is an amendment to the Patriot Act.
My reading on this today was sparked by a comment on Lifehacker that suggested Pseudophedrine was closely related to Ephedra. This proves to be true, according to Wikipedia.
No real point to this post. I just found it to be interesting information, and thought you might as well.
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