I wonder if the cost benefit analysis would show that this is still the best policy - I.e. are more people dying because of overdose of acetaminophen than would have from “behind the counter” + controlled acquisition of codeine products.
I would also imagine that the compliance / nationwide tracking is now much easier than when the legislation was initially conceived.
That said, dextromethorphan works just fine on its own (if you take enough -- 2 tsp is nonsense). Why they feel the need to mix in a bunch of other actives is beyond me.
There should be a class of drug where the pharmacist gets to decide, based on some registry, whether you get to have something.
They should take all the ineffective phenylephrine products off the market and educate the consumer about asking for pseudoephedrine versions. But I think the ship has sailed and meth is being made with industrial chemicals now, so the restriction isn't as useful as it was.
I think it's not a bad idea to have a registry to prevent over-dispensing of opiate cough syrup. It's really an important drug. There are a lot of conditions that cause chronic, lifelong, unproductive coughing. Doctors end up prescribing things that are either more habit-forming or more dangerous.