The Man strikes again

As always, I picked up the "crud" my last couple of days playing Army, and got off the plane hacking and sneezing (Mom, Dad - thanks for the immune system that allows me to resist illness until right before I come home, virtually guaranteeing that every homecoming in my life will be a festival of phlegm).

We stopped at Walgreens for Advil Cold & Sinus, which, apparently because you can use it to make meth, is now a controlled substance. I picked up my little I-want-cold-meds tag and proceeded to the pharmacy, where a nice little pharmacist asked for my driver's license.

She took it, got me my 20 caplets, and proceeded to start typing something into her computer.

Pardon me, I asked, but, just out of curiosity, exactly what information are you capturing?

Oh, she replied, we get your name and address and driver's license number. You know, so they can see how much of this stuff you're buying and if they think you're using it to make meth. Even though I know you're not. She smiled.

I can buy 5,000 rounds of ammunition with no ID (unless I'm buying at one of those places that likes to verify age), but they are tracking my cold medicine purchases?

Creepy.