A Williamstown man will be spending the next three years behind bars for using and distributing an over-the-counter drug to make meth.

Twenty-nine year-old Cy D. Rayder pleaded guilty to providing pseudoephedrine pills bought in Oswego, Oneida, and Jefferson counties to another person who used them to make methamphetamine.

The purchases of what amounted to a little more than thirty-three grams of the medication were said to take place between September and December of 2011.  The sales were spread out over different counties because the sale of pseudoephedrine is tracked by pharmacies.

Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant, and is the active ingredient in several cold medications available without prescription.

In exchange he got some of the finished product and eventually learned how to make meth himself.

Once released from jail in 2016 Rayder will be on supervised release for another three years.

 

What Is Pseudoephedrine?

More and more cases of abuse of pseudoephedrine are being reported. But what is pseudoephedrine? Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant. It is used mainly to treat stuffy noses and the symptoms of colds. It works by narrowing the blood vessels, decreasing swelling.  Photo Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer, Getty Images

 

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