Positives to cannabis bill

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

How the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill might affect medicinal cannabis patients was the focus of a virtual conference hosted by the NZ Drug Foundation last week.

The bill will be the subject of a referendum at this year's general election on September 19. Voters will be asked if they support the bill, or not.

President of the NZ Medical Cannabis Council, and co-founder of Tairawhiti-based Rua Bioscience Manu Caddie, was on the four-person panel.

He was joined by medicinal cannabis user advocate and Medicinal Cannabis Advisory Group (2019) member Rebecca Reider, Auckland Patients Group founder and medicinal cannabis advocate Pearl Schomburg, and Medical Cannabis Awareness founder and coordinator Shaun Le Brun.

The conference was chaired by Kali Mercier, policy and advocacy manager of NZ Drug Foundation.

New Zealand's medicinal cannabis scheme came into force in April.

But the drug foundation says for most patients, whanau and carers this has not made it easier to legally access products that will reduce suffering and improve quality of life.

Ms Mercier said the slow start meant products were still expensive and hard to come by.

Therefore, medicinal cannabis advocates and patients are turning their attention to the referendum.

The new law is seen by many as the only way that many will be able to access the products they need.

Mr Caddie shared his thoughts on the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill and how it could affect patients.

“There is still a lot of uncertainty around the price of the products, but there being quality standards and the fact you can grow your own, it seems positive for patients from my perspective,” Mr Caddie said.

“So if we get the yes vote, and (if) it gets to the select committee stage people could make submissions and the bill could be polished up, but overall the access to the product for patients will be much easier.”

The bill allows a plant limit of two per person or four per household but if more are found the person will incur an infringement fee.

“The devil will be in the detail,” Mr Caddie said.

He spoke about how testing cannabis product, in the pharmaceutical sense, is proving to be a challenge.

“It will be interesting to see what and how the product quality standard will work in a recreational market.

Along with testing facilities, another part to consider was the necessary security around growing plants, he said.

He also spoke about how people who have been penalised because of cannabis prohibition will be allowed to access the product.

“Maori and other groups that have been penalised and stigmatised through prohibition are going to be able to participate.

“It seems there is a real effort to learn from communities that have been harmed by prohibition.”

Panelists were asked if they thought the laws around cannabis control and medicinal cannabis would reduce the stigma around using cannabis.

Mr Caddie said he thought it would.

“A survey in the US found that the legalisation has been positive.

“I think we will see something like that here and the stigma will decrease really quickly.”