MOVES ON P COULD HIT COLD MEDICINES

Cold and flu medicine Ingredients used to manufacture the illegal drug P or
speed are set to become class C controlled drugs - the same classification
as cannabis.

Moves were afoot to move pseudoephedrine from the Medicines Act to the
Misuse of Drugs Act, Taranaki District Health Board chief pharmacist
Elizabeth Plant told the Taranaki District Health Board on Thursday.

Pseudoephedrine products are increasingly being used to illegally
manufacture methamphetamine.

Mrs Plant said that, under the Drugs Act, pseudoephedrine, the active
ingredient in cold and flu medications like Sudafed and Nurofen, would
become a class C controlled drug.

The recommendation had been made to Parliament from the Expert Advisory
Committee on Drugs, Mrs Plant said.

The change would give police greater powers to arrest, charge and search,
Mrs Plant said.

But pseudoephedrine, a valuable treatment for colds and flu, would still be
available across the counter, she said.

Yesterday, a Ministry of Health spokesperson confirmed discussions were
being held with drug companies and pharmacies on the change.

Mrs Plant also told the board that last month's call by board member Tom
Mulholland to ban cold and flu products containing pseudoephedrine within
Taranaki was not

possible because drug jurisdiction was New Zealand-wide.

"There is no provision that would allow different scheduling in different
parts of the country across the various DHBs," she said.

The board's drug and alcohol medical officer, Graeme Judson, said the
drug's use should be kept in perspective.

An unofficial survey of Taranaki drug and alcohol patients last Wednesday
found methamphetamine use was slowly increasing.

"It has quietly grown since 2000 from 1% to 5% of our patients."

In comparison, cannabis and alcohol addictions each involved 30% to 40% of
patients under treatment.

A national survey in 2001 of 15 to 45-year-olds had found the prevalence of
meth use had increased from 9 to 12% of the general population. The most
marked increase was in the 15 to 25-year age group.

But 90% of those who used it recreationally did not go on to develop
problems, Dr Judson said.

Those who did develop psychotic behaviour, such as the RSA triple killer
William Bell, were only the tip of the iceberg, he said.

He warned that fear tactics were not the right way to educate people about
its use, he said.

Dr Judson said taking away one of the most useful cough and cold remedies
from the market was not the answer. Retail purchase was still a problem,
but was small in comparison to its importation.

Gang leaders were now importing their own stocks, he said.

In 2000, Customs had intercepted 10,308 tablets. This had increased to
600,000 in the first six months of this year.

The best strategy locally was to promote awareness, Dr Judson said.

* In June, methamphetamine was reclassified as a Class A drug under the
government's 19-point Methamphetamine Action Plan.