New cannabis legislation ‘disappointing’
"So I actually think what they have announced may not necessarily be what they end up with. I think that there will be significant changes." Peter Old
New medicinal cannabis legislation has been described as disappointing but a step in the right direction by a Taranaki couple who recently won a yearlong battle to use imported products.
Earlier this month new legislation was introduced by the Government, which would include a medicinal cannabis (MC) scheme to enable access to medical grade products and remove cannabidiol from the schedule of controlled drugs.
Eventually patients with a prescription would be able to access medicinal cannabis products at a pharmacy. In October New Plymouth’s Helen Old - who has been left paralysed from the neck down, with impaired speech and vision after years battling the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis - was given the green light to source MC from Canada.
Her husband Peter said he hadn’t had time to look at the proposal in depth because Helen had spent the last three weeks in hospital after suffering a stroke.
He said while the couple were disappointed initially they still believed the proposal was a step in the right direction.
‘‘From what we understand prior to election day, the medicinal cannabis that the Labour Party were proposing was significantly better than what they ended up with.
‘‘What I did see and read was not perhaps what I envisaged but I’m not too worried about that because it has got to go to a select committee and submissions are going to be made.’’
Much of the detail of how the new scheme would work remains unclear, but it aims to make medicinal cannabis more readily available for people with terminal illnesses or chronic pain.
December’s law change would ensure terminally ill people with less than 12 months to live wouldn’t be prosecuted for having illicit cannabis. Although it wouldn’t make it legal for them to use cannabis, they wouldn’t be criminalised for doing it.
Health Minister David Clark said the compassionate measure legalised what some people were already doing, and would ensure no prosecutions while the new prescribing framework was set-up.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the bill was a ‘‘new frontier’’, but it was important New Zealand had its say so it would be going through the full select committee process.
Peter said the couple had been supported by Shane Le Brun of the Medicinal Cannabis Association during their 12 month battle to gain access to different varieties of MC to help ease Helen’s pain and he believed submissions from the association and other advocacy groups would help shape the final bill.
‘‘I think that the Government will listen.
‘‘So I actually think what they have announced may not necessarily be what they end up with. I think that there will be significant changes.’’
He said Helen was now at home recovering from her stroke and they were expecting to receive the first supply of MC by the end of January.
It’s likely to take up to 24 months before medicinal cannabis is manufactured and sold in New Zealand.