Section 48(1)(b) of the existing legislation places an absolute prohibition on the prescription and administration of drugs by a registered optometrist who is not also a registered medical practitioner. However, in modern optometry practice it is not possible to conduct a proper examination of the eye without dilation of the pupil, which requires the use of mydriatic drugs. One effect of such drugs is to freeze the accommodation of the eye, that is, to reduce the ability of the eye to change focus. In practice, optometrists are interpreting the 1956 Act to the effect that the use of such drugs is lawful because it refers to the administration of drugs whose purpose is to paralyse the accommodation of the eye. Optometrists contend that paralysing the eye is not the purpose, but the effect, of their professional activities.