If you're going to Nevada, bring supplies (when the war on drugs hits your nose)

I spent last weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, and at one point was sent on an errand to get some allergy medication for a family member. It turns out that I selected the wrong allergy medication, but in an odd stroke of luck I was prevented from buying the medication.

I was prevented from buying the medication because the Wal Mart cashier wouldn't sell it to me.

You see, the medication that I selected contained Sudafed. (The medication that I was supposed to get was the Sudafed-free one.) And Wal Mart wouldn't sell me the medication because I don't have a Nevada drivers license.

There's a good reason why I don't have a Nevada drivers license. You see, I live in California. But at least to the Wal Mart clerk, a California drivers license isn't good enough.

As it turns out, I'm a Sudafed user - mainly because (a) I have allergies, and (b) the newer models, such as Sudafed PE, don't work.

But it turns out that my home area, the Inland Empire, isn't the only place dealing with meth labs. As of March 2007, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported the following:

A study found that Nevada ranked No. 1 nationally in use of methamphetamine, with 2 percent of its population over age 12 having used meth at least once.

So places everywhere are restricting sales of Sudafed in various ways. I haven't been able to determine if the "only a Nevada drivers license" mandate is a Nevada state mandate, or a Wal Mart mandate.

But travelers should be forewarned.