Newsgroups: sci.med.pharmacy
Subject: Re: Alternate to hycomine with ppa
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 06:07:55 GMT

In article <C755DB2C236F143C.FBCEE48ED04E476B.BB62CCF576C5FA1C@lp.airnews.net>,
Brad,R.Ph. <dentonrx@REMOVEairmail.net> wrote:
>I have seen nothing official about the FDA banning PPA. I have only seen
>news reports about the same warnings we've been giving patients for years.
>PPA has been deemed safe and effective for decades. Now, according to news
>reports, only pseudoephedrine is safe - isn't pseudoephedrine the same
>product the DEA wanted us to inventory and limit large sales cuz its used to
>make speed?

In fact, PPA can also be converted in kitchen labs to either
d,l-amphetamine or d,l-cathinone, just as pseudoephedrine can
be converted to d-methamphetamine or methcathinone (not sure
of the chirality.)

It seems pretty obvious to me that this action against PPA in OTC
preparations is just the thin edge of the wedge in a concerted attempt
to accomplish with the bogeyman of rare hypertensive crises what the
FDA and DEA have been unable to accomplish over the past 5 years:
the removal of PPA and all isomers of ephedrine from the unregulated
OTC market so to eliminate their diversion for the illegal synthesis
of amphetamines.  It would not at all surprise me if another study
materialized real soon now demonstrating the same dangers with
l-ephedrine and d-pseudoephedrine.
--
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com