Reform of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975

The frontline medications many people with ADHD depend on are included in the Schedules within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 – probably the worst piece of legislation still on the books in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Let’s take methylphenidate (Ritalin) as an example. It was added to the Schedules in the 1980s, before it became a treatment for ADHD – and it’s stayed there ever since, despite diagnosis of ADHD and the use of methylphenidate growing significantly. From our assessment, it now seems to be the most prescribed drug within the Schedules, used every day by tens of thousands of New Zealanders. Yet – as the Ministry of Health knows – methylphenidate is not physically addictive and only has very limited capacity for abuse.

The constraints applied by the Misuse of Drugs Act are highly problematic for people with ADHD. Only 30 days of drugs can be prescribed at once, with no repeats; and the prescription must be picked up within 7 days of the pharmacist receiving the prescription. If you lose your drugs (because, you know, ADHD) then there’s practically no chance they will be replaced – and you’re likely to be treated like a meth addict if you even ask the GP.

These are the same constraints applied to highly addictive drugs with extremely high potential for abuse, yet the potential harm from methylphenidate is orders of magnitude lower. But for some reason, the Ministry of Health has missed every single opportunity to remove methylphenidate and related drugs from the Misuse of Drugs Act. It continues to behave as though Ritalin is as bad as meth, despite having plenty of evidence to the contrary.

So we are advocating for a complete re-think of how ADHD drugs are assessed and classified, with the aim of moving them to being prescribed and dispensed in exactly the same way as other standard front-line drugs – such as antidepressants.

We’re not the only ones who think the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 is no longer fit for purpose. In 2011 the Law Commission said the Act needed a complete overhaul – yet a decade later, exactly nothing has been achieved.

Part of the reason for the inaction seems to be the society-wide debate on marijuana, including the recent referendum. However, there have been ample opportunities for progress to be made for the tens of thousands of people with ADHD, yet the needs of our community have been systematically ignored by a lethargic Ministry of Health. We aim to change that.