Grower hopes to undercut competitors
A company growing medicinal cannabis in Mataura says it could be a major disrupter to the industry, and the black market, by producing its products for one 10th of what its competitors do.
But first, it needs Medsafe to approve a clinical trial.
Southern Medicinal is growing and processing medicinal cannabis and hemp at the former paper mill building at Mataura in eastern Southland.
Company spokesperson Greg Marshall said the company’s low overheads meant it could grow and supply its products cheaper than the medicinal cannabis on the market now, which was mostly imported.
It was in discussions with Medsafe about running a clinical trial, but was yet to gain approval.
Yesterday, several medicinal cannabis users were given a tour of the company’s operation.
’’Price is the biggest barrier for people who want to use it,’’ he said.
‘‘We have the benefit of the ability to plan the entire system from start to finish with the objective of giving you guys access to medicines you need at a price you can afford.’’
The advantages of using the mill building was that it had plenty of space, and a turbine which generated its own power. There are no glossy offices at the mill’s former 10,000m2 paper bag factory, which houses converted shipping containers which serve as grow chambers, drying areas and the processing space.
Marshall said he was confident the company could get the cost of producing raw flower down to $1.50 a gram, which would mean a month’s supply of medicinal cannabis would cost about $90.
For Southland man Chris, who was involved in a bus crash and now suffered from severe back pain, that would be a game changer.
ACC is funding one year of medicinal cannabis treatment for him at a cost of $365 a month.
’’If this [Southern Medicinal’s products] were available it would definitely help with the cost, especially if you’re not able to work,’’ he said.
’’It would mean the cost of using it isn’t prohibitive and people could choose to use it instead of Oxycontin, for pain which has really bad side effects.’’
Joseph Ball used cannabis to control pain from cerebral palsy, but said he hated the stigma of having to do something illegal to medicate himself.
Oncologist Dr David Anderson, of Dunedin, said up to 40% of his patients asked about using medicinal cannabis to ease symptoms like pain and nausea from other drugs.
But access and cost were barriers to some, which forced some people to source products on the black market, and that meant that people often did not know the origins of the products they were using, he said.
More information was required in the medical profession about clinical dosages for different conditions, he said.
Southland pharmacist Steve Jo said people regularly inquired about the cost of products, but found the cost prohibitive. ‘‘A couple of years ago it used to be very expensive but the price has come down in the last few months,’’ he said.
It cost between $80 to $200 a bottle depending on the strength, he said. ‘‘We are dispensing more, but we know that actual demand for the dispensing of these products are quite low, because we understand that by talking to customers a lot of patients already know it is an expensive product and it is not affordable.’’