Over-the-counter substance |
- See separate article for over-the-counter
trading.
Drugs
Over-the-counter drugs (OTC) or other medical remedies may be sold without a prescription and without a visit to a medical professional. One of the oldest OTC drugs is aspirin. Sometimes some OTC drugs are further restricted to require prescriptions. Cocaine and various opiates, for instance, were
once sold freely OTC, but now are highly restricted. On the other hand, diphenhydramine hydrochloride (Benadryl, for instance) once required a prescription, but now
is available (except for certain dosage forms) OTC.
Other over the counter drugs are sold, but not marketed as drugs. Morning
glory seeds are sold for their gardening purposes, but can be used
recreationally as a hallucinogenic drug due to the LSA it contains. Nutmeg
has also been used to some extent as a hallucinogenic drug, but is
considered undesirable to most recreational drug users.
Chemicals
Over-the-counter chemicals may be sold without much suspicion.
Many chemicals are becoming harder to get due to underground drug and explosives laboratories. Underground chemists have become
exceedingly efficient in extracting essential chemicals from very ordinary items:
See also
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