Mixed reaction to medicinal pot law
A Taranaki medicinal cannabis company has welcomed the passing of legislation which will provide legal protection for palliative patients who use the drug, but a tireless campaigner says the new law doesn’t go far enough.
On Tuesday, the Government passed the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill, following its third reading in Parliament. The bill provides a statutory defence, if prosecuted, for those people who are close to death in palliative care and use marijuana. A requirement for regulations for the medicinal cannabis scheme to be in place no later than 12 months after the law comes into effect was also established.
New Plymouth’s Peter Old, a medicinal cannabis advocate, had ‘‘mixed feelings’’ about the amended law as he believed it was not inclusive enough.
While it offered protection to palliative patients, Old said it remained unclear to him if his late wife Helen would have benefited in any way from the bill.
‘‘I’m happy to see some legislation but I don’t think it goes far enough,’’ Old said.
Helen died on August 31 after spending three decades living with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a condition which left her paralysed from the neck down.
Prior to this, the Olds spent more than a year campaigning for the right for Helen to use medicinal cannabis sourced from Canada to ease pain associated with her condition.
The Ministry of Health did eventually grant permission in October 2017, but bringing the drug into the country proved too costly for the couple.
Since his wife’s death, Old has continued to advocate on behalf of other people to get access to medicinal cannabis and had followed the developments in terms of the legislation with keen interest.
While he believed there was a missed opportunity for the Government to be bolder in terms of the changes it passed this week, he believed the issues around medicinal cannabis, its use and how it became available would be an ‘‘evolving story’’.
‘‘I can see it being changed down the road and be far more inclusive. I guess it had to start somewhere,’’ he said of the law.
For Normanby-based Greenfern Medicinal Marijuana Limited (GMM), the legal development was ‘‘another step in the right direction’’.
‘‘It’s welcome news for the terminally ill and their families,’’ a GMM spokesman said.
Set up in April, GMM is working with the Ministry of Health to obtain the necessary licences and launched a crowdfunding campaign to get its venture off the ground, which had raised $167,000 in less than a week.
‘‘The capital will allow Greenfern to build growing facilities located on site at a hydro power station and make it the most sustainable and environmentally friendly medicinal cannabis grower in New Zealand.’’
The opportunity for New Zealanders to have their say on the issue was also supported by GMM.
On Tuesday, Health Minister David Clark signalled the ministry would release a paper on the planned medicinal scheme early next year, which would be open for public consultation.