A law change will allow cough and cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine to be sold over the counter at pharmacies. The Misuse of Drugs (Pseudoephedrine) Amendment Bill, which has passed its third reading in Parliament, reclassifies pseudoephedrine from a restricted medicine to an over-the-counter drug. Previously, pseudoephedrine, which is used to make the drug methamphetamine, was classified as a Class B2 prescription-only drug. The ban on over-the-counter sales was implemented in 2009 by then-prime minister John Key.
Associate Health Minister and ACT leader David Seymour, who has been advocating for the return of these drugs to pharmacies, said that the ban did not end the methamphetamine epidemic. He argued that it led to more sophisticated methods of sourcing the drug from overseas criminals. Seymour believes it’s unlikely that people will return to the less efficient, more expensive method of producing methamphetamine by buying pseudoephedrine from pharmacies.
However, Labour’s Ayesha Verrall expressed concerns about the new law, suggesting that it could lead to people making methamphetamine from pseudoephedrine. She also expressed disappointment that the proposal to keep pseudoephedrine in a locked safe in pharmacies was not included in the final bill. Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick supported the change, describing it as a move towards “evidence-based drug law”.
