It’s the next Meth!

Via JMBzine, who writes Oh, great, another stupid Oklahoma drug law.
Link

Oklahoma teenagers too young to buy alcohol are getting high by drinking bottles of cough syrup containing a non-regulated ingredient, according to supporters of a bill approved by a state House panel Monday that would put the medicine behind pharmacists’ counters. […]

“This is going to become an epidemic, just like meth did,” said Rep. Doug Miller, R-Norman.

Back many years ago when I was a child, I remember two students in school who were using Kerosene to get high and one of them died (quite frankly, while my young mind had not yet heard of the not-yet-invented Darwin Awards, I instinctively understood the concept and approved in this particular case). Glue sniffing was also around. And, of course that happens today, as well. Which means…
Oh, no, we’d better hurry up and pass a lot more laws!
To start with, we must have the following things put, by law, behind the counter:

• Kerosene
• Gasoline
• Propane
• Paint, paint thinners, lacquer, etc.
• WD-40
• Nail polish remover
• Lighter fluid, butane lighters
• Cleaning fluids and spot remover
• Non-stick coating spray cans
• Shoe polish
• Glue, rubber cement
• Hair sprays and spray deodorants
• Magic Markers

Oh, yeah, and better get those cans of whipped cream. And the helium balloons.
We’re going to need a much bigger counter.
Look. Some kids are going to find ways to get high, and nothing you can do as a legislator is going to stop that, so stop deluding yourself into thinking you have that power. In fact, you should be aware that just about anything you do is likely to have unintended consequences that will make things worse (like the way cracking down on legal amphetamines spawned the methamphetamine home cooking craze).
Good parenting, truthful education, and harm reduction approaches will do more to save young lives than your stupid laws.