Calls for Kiwi cannabis industry

MEDICINAL cannabis patients have been left frustrated after a promising new product turned out to be more expensive than previously thought due to shipping costs.

Campaigners are now calling for a medicinal cannabis industry to be established in New Zealand to help reduce those costs.

‘‘That would shorten the supply chain significantly, and it would also eliminate the international shipping costs,’’ said founder of the charity MC Awareness, which advocates for medicinal cannabis, Shane Le Brun.

It was initially hoped that Tilray would be around half the price of Sativex, a medicine which was approved earlier.

However, thousands of dollars in shipping costs from Canada meant that Tilray ended up just as expensive, if not more so, than Sativex.

AUT academic Dr Huhana Hickey was the first patient in New Zealand to receive approval for Tilray.

Hickey said she preferred Tilray to Sativex, which was an alcohol-based spray.

‘‘I don’t smell like I’ve been to the pub, so it’s a lot nicer,’’ she said.

She has struggled to afford the cannabis medication, which is not funded by Pharmac.

‘‘I’m trying not to go down the illegal route, but I’m aware that I’m going to have to make that decision,’’ she said.

Canadian supplier Tilray provided Hickey with her first shipment of the medicine free on compassionate grounds. However, any future orders from Canada would incur full shipping costs andcould cost up to $5,000 per shipment.