By Serena Solomon of RNZ Some parents say melatonin is the only way to get their kids to sleep and the medication should be easier to get in New Zealand. To get the prescription-only sleep medication melatonin for her 10-year-old daughter, Wellington mother Fern has to jump through a few hoops. First, she finds an online retailer overseas that will ship to New Zealand.
These are becoming less and less common as Medsafe works to prevent international retailers like iHerb from selling melatonin to Kiwis. Then the package has to get through Customs undetected, so she orders only one bottle at a time. Fern’s most recent package – a bottle with 150 cherry-flavour pills, each containing 5mg of melatonin – arrived safely two weeks ago.
Her family’s acute sleep needs are sorted for the next few months..
