Many Florida residents can be pleased to see the beginning of a new calendar year. This can be a good time to make changes and look forward to what may perhaps be a better year than the one that came before it. Individuals are not the only ones who consider New Year’s Day a good time to enact changes. The state also took the opportunity to put into effect several new laws.
One of the new laws that Floridians should know about is said to be an attempt to help young people develop an addiction to drugs. At one point, stores noticed that large amounts of Sudafed were being bought and eventually traced the purchases to the creation of methamphetamine. As a result the state changed laws restricting who could purchase the non-prescription drug. Today, it is cough suppressants that are facing a similar sort of restriction.
Reports suggest that many underage people are using these medicines to achieve a state similar to intoxication. The effective ingredient involved in dextromethorphan. In high quantities, it can make people feel dizzy and even hallucinate. Now in Florida, people must be legal adults to purchase any drug with this ingredient in it. Interestingly, that means a person who is 18 years old can buy this drug that yields a sensation similar to being drunk but that same person cannot legally purchase alcohol. It is not known if dextromethorphan could result in a person’s blood alcohol content being over the legal limit when driving.
People who want to know more about drug laws and crimes in Floriday may find it helpful to talk with an attorney, especially as laws can and do change.
Source: WPTV, “New Florida law bans teens from buying cough medicine,” Alanna Quillen, Dec. 29, 2016