Documentary: New Zealand has tried and failed to fix its methamphetamine crisis for 20 years. Now the country is facing a second wave of the epidemic.
A drug policy expert says New Zealand is now so “awash” with methamphetamine a ban on over-the-counter cold medicines containing the precursor ingredient pseudoephedrine is largely “redundant” in stemming the country’s supply.
The Act Party has proposed to overturn the policy saying it deprives people of effective medicinefor no benefit and has the support of National, meaning it has a good chance of becoming a reality in the near future.
Pharmacists, meanwhile, say while pseudoephedrine is an effective decongestant they are wary about any change, given they were regularly targeted in burglaries and ram raid-style robberies prior to the 2011 ban.
The policy was brought in by then-prime minister Sir John Key to reclassify pseudoephedrine as a controlled class B drug.
Key argued New Zealand was in a crisis due to “P” consumption, which at the time was largely being cooked domestically, often using pseudoephedrine extracted from medicines obtained legally through pharmacies.
The policy was also intended to end the flurry of robberies and ram raids targeting pharmacies at the time.
Initially, it appeared to have an impact, as the price of meth stabilised, the number of local clan labs decreased and pharmacy-related crime reduced.
But according to a 2021 police report, within years criminal groups had adapted to the new environment, first importing the medication and then pseudoephedrine in raw form.
International drug cartels also recognised the high demand in New Zealand and the drug started arriving in its pure form. Police and Customs have continued to register record busts ever since.
Over this time the price of meth continued to fall - a key indicator of a decent supply.
Act party leader David Seymour says the policy is a good example of many ineffective regulations he wants to get rid of. Photo / Jason Oxenham
According to the Key Government’s baseline indicators report, in 2009 methamphetamine cost between $700 and $1000 a gram.
Adjusted for inflation that’s about $1000 to $1400.
Today, police say it could be purchased for as low as $200 a gram.
Associate Professor Chris Wilkins, leader of Massey University’s drug research team, said the policy not making a difference anymore in terms of meth control.
“We used to talk about busts of 10kg as being big, now it is 100s and even a tonne of meth.
“Wastewater testing shows usage is not falling and surveys show the cost is lower than it has ever been, usually a good sign the market is awash in meth.”
Wilkins said the policy had “good intentions” but fatigue appeared to have set in.
“We have taken the eye off methamphetamine.”
If the incoming Government did reverse the policy, Wilkins said he hoped more effort would be put into the prevention side of drug policy.
Pharmacist Linda Palmer, of Westmere Pharmacy in Auckland, said she couldn’t recall a pharmacy prior to 2011 that hadn’t been robbed or ram raided by opportunists hunting out pseudoephedrine.
“People would grab it off the shelves and run out with it, and there were ram raids and other crimes associated with it.
“Policing it was very hard. We had to ask for ID, and there clearly many drug seekers and others working for people who cooked it.”
At the time of the ban, it was argued there were alternatives just as effective, such as Sudafen, but recent studies have challenged this.
Palmer said there was a gap in the market for medicines containing pseudoephedrine.
“It is a very effective medicine, and other cold and flu remedies have proven to be ineffective. But I certainly wouldn’t want to go back to those days.”
Codral, Sudafed and Nurofen cold and flu pills which all contain pseudoephedrine. Photo / Martin Sykes
She said she wondered if many pharmacies would choose to stock the medicines given the risk, and fact there was currently little demand for it as a prescription medicine.
She said there would need to be safety protocols around it, such as a centralised recording system so people couldn’t go “place to place”.
The Pharmacy Guild, which represents pharmacy owners in New Zealand, declined to comment.
Pharmaceutical Society vice-president Michael said the risks and benefits needed to be considered to understand any “potential unintended consequences”.
Pseudoephedrine is available over the counter in the UK, Canada, parts of the United States and in Australia, where it is pharmacist-only and purchases are recorded in a database in real time.
Act Party leader David Seymour said reversing the ban was not something they were particularly concerned about, rather it was “just one of many regulations we want to get rid of”.
“It’s a good opportunity to illustrate our belief about regulation. This was designed to prevent the manufacture of methamphetamine but clearly there are now many other ways.
“The cost of not being able to access the effective medicine is substantial, while the benefit has clearly not played out.”
National declined to comment, but ahead of the election said it supported the idea. Labour also said it supported the policy change.
