Seymour DavidMISUSE OF DRUGS (PSEUDOEPHEDRINE) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon DAVID SEYMOUR (Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac)): Mr Speaker thank you very much and if you'll excuse me for one second I was just reading some of the finer points of this beautiful bill before I found the part I need to read in order to ensure that it is correctly read. And that is: I present a legislative statement on the Misuse of Drugs (Pseudoephedrine) Amendment Bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Teanau Tuiono): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: Thank you Mr Speaker. I move That the Misuse of Drugs (Pseudoephedrine) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Health Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 14 March 2024 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting (except during oral questions) during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 193 195 and 196.This is a very simple piece of legislation but it also will have significant effects and benefits for New Zealanders particularly in flu season. The purpose of this bill is to restore access to cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Prior to 2011 these medicines were available to purchase from New Zealand pharmacies. In 2011 however pseudoephedrine was reclassified as a class B2 controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Effectively this change meant that cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine could only be accessed with a prescription from a registered medical practitioner. As a result of these restrictions pharmaceutical companies withdrew from the New Zealand market and New Zealanders can no longer access these very effective medicines for very annoying ailments particularly during the winter flu seasons.The bill itself as I've said is straightforward. It changes the classification of pseudoephedrine from a class B2 drug as it is currently listed in the Misuse of Drugs Act to a class C3 controlled drug. This will allow cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine to be sold in New Zealand pharmacies without a prescription. Under the Act drugs that pose a high risk of harm are classified as class B drugs and drugs that pose a moderate risk of harm are classified as class C drugs. The classification of pseudoephedrine as a class C controlled drug simultaneously achieves the policy intention behind the bill while retaining the appropriate controls for illicit use. Under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations class C3 controlled drugs are defined as partially exempted drugs. Partially exempted drugs are exempt from some of the requirements such as storage requirements in the regulations that would restrict access to these drugs for therapeutic purposes.The bill also makes some consequential amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations to ensure consistency with the Act. The Government is also making a change to the Medicines Regulations to classify cold and flu products containing pseudoephedrine as restricted medicines. With this change customers purchasing these medicines will need to do so by way of a face-to-face transaction with a pharmacist. The pharmacist must record information and can highlight advice as appropriate including counselling patients who should not take pseudoephedrine for clinical reasons.The previous ban on selling pseudoephedrine products without a prescription was brought in as pseudoephedrine was being used in the manufacture of methamphetamine or P a class A controlled drug. The change unfortunately had negligible effects on the overall methamphetamine market in New Zealand as suppliers simply adapted to the law change notably by importing more finished product. And as has been reported in the New Zealand Herald the networks that New Zealand gangs fostered as they created those new supply chains has arguably increased the sophistication of organised crime in New Zealand and had quite significant negative impacts on New Zealanders during that time.The classification of pseudoephedrine as a class C3 controlled drug will ensure that customs and police retain the necessary powers to control its illicit use. You'll need a licence to import or export products containing pseudoephedrine so customs will be able to seize unlicensed importations. These border controls will also ensure that available products containing pseudoephedrine are of a high quality. Some groups have raised concerns that pharmacies will become targets for ram raid - style burglaries and aggravated robberies by those involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine. It should be noted that there is no requirement for pharmacists to stock these products and that there are measures available to pharmacists to prevent retail crime. And it's worth noting that not only is it voluntary to stock these products but pharmacies presently stock other products that some people might like to steal. To buy into the logic that a legitimate business should not stock a product by choice because they are intimidated by criminals I think is a commentary on where New Zealand has got to in terms of retail crime rather than a pragmatic response. If people are going to commit crimes the answer is to punish the people committing the crime not every New Zealander with a cold and flu.I further add that medicines containing pseudoephedrine are used worldwide for their effective relief of cold and flu symptoms. This bill strikes the balance between giving consumers access to a useful medicine and enabling law enforcement to curb the manufacture of methamphetamine the two goals in balance under this new law. As a result New Zealanders will be able to breathe easier—literally—knowing that they can effectively treat their cold and flu symptoms.I want to just mention that I've had an interesting experience today dealing with media asking about all of the terrible things that could go wrong. I think unfortunately it is a sad commentary on some of the worst of New Zealand that we are so focused—we are a country that appears to be afraid of the implications of cough medicine if you listen to some in the mainstream media. All we are doing is trying to make life easier and more comfortable for New Zealanders by removing restrictions on their freedoms. All we are doing is ensuring that the rules around cold and cough medicine in New Zealand will be nearly identical to Australia and nearly indistinguishable from those in other countries such as the United Kingdom the United States and Canada countries where people can go into their pharmacy and buy some effective cold and cough medicine if they have the winter chills and the winter ills. That is what we are seeking to do and I think it's an important commentary on New Zealand and particularly the state of our media and some commentators that we actually weigh the costs and benefits of our decisions rather than constantly beating ourselves up with more rules more restrictions because of the what-ifers".For those that are concerned as I've said pharmacies are not required to sell these pharmaceuticals. It is a choice and if people make that choice then it is the responsibility of the New Zealand State to protect people's basic right to buy and sell legal products whether they're a dairy with tobacco whether they are a pharmacy with metham—oh sorry with pseudoephedrine; we certainly would not be protecting them if they were selling that—or whether it is any other business whether it is a timber yard selling building supplies. Our responsibility is to have a society and uphold the law in a society where people are able to get on with their lawful business and when crimes are committed ensure that we punish them.So without further ado and the risk of any further a gaffe I will conclude this speech and look forward to hearing the debate and which of the other parties in Parliament are willing to support this small movement towards rational lawmaking common sense and making life easier for New Zealanders balancing the risks and rewards of decisions and allowing people to live on their own terms. Thank you Mr Speaker.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Teanau Tuiono): The question is that the motion be agreed to."