The Drug problem called Cheese.

Locally in Plano Texas, there has been an ongoing problem with the drug mix called "Cheese." I do not know on a national level how widespread this problem is, but I do know why it is lethal at times. The drug is a mixture of heroin, benadryl and acetominaphen. The problem with the abuse of acetominaphen is that it destroys the liver when abused/overused. This is not a problem if you follow dosing instructions. Tylenol is the O(ver) T(he) C(ounter) analgesic that contains acetominaphen, but it is also available as a generic. Acetominaphen competes with the anti-inflamatory ibuprofen (brand name Advil.) An analgesic is a muscle relaxant, whereas an anti-inflamatory reduces swelling. Both are pain relievers. Our problem with Ice/Speed has been partially addressed by making pseudophededrine (brand name Pseudophed) only available behind the counter. This was politically accompished by a competing product that was new (and could not be used for Ice/Speed) lobbying for the reform. As such IF Cheese was as big a problem as Speed/Ice it could be addressed politically by developing a new analgesic that did not mix with heroin. The resulting patent would be worth money, and the new brand would compete with both Tylenol and Advil at least as long as it took to come out generic. This strategy for dealing with the war on drugs is akin to Harm Reduction, an important tool in the Netherlands. It is difficult to get accurate statistics on drug war info, because many have a vested interest in obfuscation on both sides.