‘Grandstanding’ over MC
A Taranaki mother left paralysed by a debilitating disease has had to resort to desperate measures to access cannabis for medicinal purposes while politicians wrestle with law reforms.
In October last year, Helen Old, who is paralysed from the neck down with impaired speech and vision after more than 30 years battling the effects of multiple sclerosis, gained approval to source medicinal cannabis (MC) from Canada.
However, almost 12 months later the 57-year-old, who is cared for by her husband Peter, and is one of only three people who have been given the green light to use different varieties of MC to treat pain, has not been able to access the products because of cost and uncertainty about the future.
Last week National MP Shane Reti introduced a MC members’ bill on the same day the Government’s MC bill was returned from the health select committee.
National’s bill would take cannabis-derived Cannabidiol (CBD) off the controlled substances list by making it ‘‘pharmacist-only medicine’’, allowing patients to repeatedly pick up cannabis products with a doctor-issued photo identity card instead of having to get a new prescription from their doctor.
The Government’s bill would retain the need for prescriptions for medicinal cannabis products and de-schedule cannabis oils as a controlled drug, making them easier for doctors to prescribe but focused on the terminally ill.
Peter Old said the cost of importing the products, which was about $1200 to $1500 a month,
was far too expensive for the couple to consider so out of desperation they’ve had to take their own steps to help improve Helen’s quality of life.
‘‘The Olds have had to take matters into their own hands and at this point in time it has satisfactorily resolved the pain issues for Helen,’’ he said.
‘‘Should proper pharmaceutical grade medicinal cannabis become available in New Zealand at a reasonable price then we will get that and if it is not available at a reasonable price we will continue to do what we are doing at the moment because it works, it works perfectly.’’
Peter Old described National’s bill as grandstanding and wanted to see parties show some genuine empathy for patients struggling with severe pain by working together.
‘‘They (National) had a great opportunity in their last term to be able to bring something coherent out and they didn’t, they chose not to,’’ Peter Old said.
‘‘It’s straight out grandstanding, it’s appalling quite honestly.’’
The couple made a submission to the health select committee wanting to see the discussion on the matter broadened to include people with conditions like Helen’s and not just for the terminally ill.
‘‘What we wanted was the drug to be available through Pharmac and an easier process where you either went through your GP or went through a specialist and then you were able to get it from a pharmacy,’’ Peter Old said.
He wanted to see New Zealand follow the lead of Canada, the US, the United Kingdom and a number of other European countries and make medicinal cannabis readily available for sufferers of severe pain.