Film director who helped cannabis campaigner Rose Renton guilty of drugs charges

Kiwi film director and cannabis campaigner Arik Reiss will be sentenced next year. Photo / Supplied

A Kiwi film director who helped Rose Renton in her fight for drug reform and medicinal cannabis has been found guilty of drugs charges.

The Herald first reported Arik Reiss was charged with possession of a pipe to consume cannabis and possession of a cannabis plant last year.

The 44-year-old cannabis campaigner directed the 2015 documentary Druglawed, a film about the use of the drug and its law reform debate in New Zealand.

The film also focuses on how the US war on drugs has affected countries like New Zealand.

The drugs case played out throughout this year at several hearings in the Auckland District Court before Reiss before was found guilty last week.

He will be sentenced next year.

In 2016, Reiss had posted photos online with Golden Bay woman Rebecca Reider holding a jar of cannabis at Auckland Airport.

He captioned the images as a "huge victory" for patients in New Zealand and reported Reider had "breezed through" Customs with several ounces of medicinal cannabis and concentrates, which were prescribed to her in Hawaii.

New Zealand law allows people who are prescribed a medicine overseas to bring one month's supply into the country for their own use.

Renton spoke at a screening of Druglawed in 2015, and was interviewed for Reiss' sequel to the documentary, it was reported at the time.

Rose Renton has campaigned for the use of medicinal cannabis after she fought for her son to be treated with it. Photo / Mike Scott

She has campaigned for the use of medicinal cannabis since 2015 when she fought for her son Alex Renton to be treated with its medicinal form.

The 19-year-old, who suffered from prolonged seizures, died on July 1, 2015 after he become the first person in New Zealand to be treated with medicinal cannabis in hospital.

Renton has also faced charges of cultivating high cannabidiol (CBD) cannabis plants, processing cannabis products and possessing cannabis for supply.

According to court documents she was accused of having in her possession possession cannabidiol (CBD), cannabis balm and cannabis brownies for the purpose of supply.

In July, Renton was found guilty of offensive behaviour after she rubbed rat poison on National MP Nick Smith.