Why do we say we get medicine we don't get at the pharmacy

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Why do we say we get medicine we don't get at the pharmacy "over the counter"? Shouldn't we use that to refer to medicine gotten at the pharmacy?

I would imagine it is an antiquated term for medications that would be on the counter as opposed to those a pharmacist would have to get from behind it. That's just speculation of course, and anyone is welcome to correct me, but that's basically what some terms boil down to -- they stemmed from things in olden times, and as things changed they began losing their original meaning, but due to the phrases still seeing widespread use, they stuck around.

It just refers to medicine you can buy without a prescription, you can take them up and purchase them over the counter ...rather than having to show a prescription to the pharmacist, have the pharmacy prepare it and then buy it after everything has been verified and confirmed.

If they change it to mean prescription drugs, what do you propose we call over the counter drugs?.

Over the counter means drugs or items you can grab yourself on the shelves without a prescription freely in a drugstore. Behind the counter means drugs or items you can still get without a prescription but they are kept behind the pharmacy counter, require you to ask the pharmacist to purchase them and may have restrictions placed on them. Examples in Ontario are like Plan-B birth control, cyproheptadine, pyrantel, diabetes lancet strips, vitamin K and a number of others. Prescription drugs are different and require a prescription from a doctor.

Did you know that Codeine is available over the counter in the UK and Canada but requires a prescription in the USA?

Ha! I've thought about that before. I think it refers to the ease of getting it. You don't need to fill out forms or anything.