Medicinal Cannabis Debate
Posted on June 30th, 2009 by Dakta Green, Filed under Events, News. 2 Comments »
Submission to New Zealand Members of Parliament.
29 June 2009
Medicinal Cannabis Bill put to historic First Vote this week
Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei’s private member’s Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill will be put to a first vote on Member’s Day this Wednesday 1st July 2009.
New Zealand is lagging behind other developed and affluent nations who have already put forth medical cannabis laws.
NORML calls upon all Members of Parliament to put aside politics, show compassion and support this Bill for it’s First Reading. Let the issue go to select committee so the people of New Zealand can have a say.
Why this bill is needed
Cannabis is a relatively safe and effective medicine for a wide range of conditions, including pain relief, appetite stimulation, nausea, brain injury, stroke, cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, glaucoma, arthritis and alzheimer’s. Even the Ministry of Health agrees! (see below)
Although these findings have been documented, doctors are ignored or intimidated and patients often arrested and jailed because of the criminal status of cannabis. Patients are forced to take addictive and more harmful prescriptions drugs rather than a natural herb described by The Lancet as the “aspirin of the 21st century”.
While existing legislation allows the Minister of Health to authorise the medicinal use of cannabis, no application has ever been approved. The Minister has in recent months approved 5 applications to use the cannabis extract Sativex. This is a great start, but does not go far enough.
Extrapolating from recent Australian research, an estimated 11,000 New Zealanders may already be using cannabis for pain relief or other medicinal uses. These patients continue to suffer or are forced to break the law.
Patients prefer herbal cannabis over Sativex
There is clinical and anecdotal evidence confirming herbal cannabis is more effective than extracts (attached);
The application process for Sativex does not help patients. It is complicated, burdonsome, and ultimately futile.
Sativex is expensive and not funded by Pharmac. Cannabis is cheap and easy to grow.
Herbal cannabis contains a range of cannabinoids (active ingredients), compared to Sativex which contains only THC and CBD.
Inhaling medicinal cannabis allows easy dose titration and quick onset of relief;
Letting patients ‘grow their own’ is not unusual
Many nations around the world allow the medicinal use of whole natural cannabis, including:
USA: thirteen states have legalised medicinal cannabis, allowing patients to either grow their own, buy it from dispensaries, or have it supplied by state-licensed producers. A small number of patients also receive pre-rolled joints from the Federal government. Alternatively, patients may also be prescribed Marinol (synthetic THC). A summary of State medical cannabis programs is at http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3391
Canada: patients can either get Sativex, grow their own, or are sent cannabis grown for the Government.
Australia: NSW is re-launching a programme to allow patients to grow their own or be prescribed Sativex…
The Netherlands: patients can grow up to 5 plants, or be prescribed one of three cannabis strains from the Bureau of Medicinal Cannabis.
Germany: patients can purchase Dutch medicinal cannabis from their German pharmacies, or may be prescribed Dronabinol (synthetic THC).
Spain: patients can grow their own or be prescribed Sativex.
Israel: patients can grow their own, or are supplied with an extract made from police seizures.
The public supports medicinal cannabis
When this bill was first introduced TV3 ran a poll asking respondents whether marijuana should be legalised for medicinal purposes. The result was a solid majority of 63 per cent in support.
The Ministry of Health supports medicinal cannabis
The Ministry of Health told the Health committee that the scientific and clinical evidence “supports the medicinal use of cannabis,” and that cannabis has a “wider safety margin… with fewer short-term side effects” than currently prescribed analgesics, and that “medicinal cannabis appears effective and safe in all age groups”.
The New Zealand Drug Foundation supports medicinal cannabis
The New Zealand Drug Foundation told the Health Committee that evidence indicates herbal cannabis is often more effective at delivering THC and other medicinal cannabinoids (the active ingredients of cannabis) than the present range of drugs.
The foundation suggested that the Government should implement the policy changes needed to establish a compassionate regime for the use of herbal cannabis in limited circumstances.
Parliament’s Health Committee supports medicinal THC
The recent Health Select Committee investigation into medical marijuana recommended that cannabis-based medicines be made more available in NZ. Its two main recommendations to the government are to:
bring the cannabis extract Sativex into the Medicines Act, making it possible for GP’s to prescribe it without the support of a specialist and permission of the Minister of Health; and
continue to make cannabis based medicines available for the treatment of serious conditions “when traditional methods have failed.”
The Health Select Committee had previously noted in it’s 2003 Cannabis Inquiry report that “cannabis has been shown to be effective in providing relief for some medical disorders … the issue of medicinal use should be dealt with independently from the legislation regulating general use”.
The two main concerns the committee expressed over herbal cannabis are not valid
Risk of home invasions: patients already risk having their homes invaded by thugs and/or the police, however they currently are unable to get any legal protection and cannot go to the police if they are robbed. Allowing patients to legally grow their own will give them more, not less, protection.
Dosage and standardisation: The USA, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands all supply government-grown cannabis to patients. It has been bred to produce consistent amounts of active ingredients, and patients and doctors report they have little difficulty establishing and maintaining appropriate dosage regimes.
More information
The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill can be read at http://www.greens.org.nz/node/17102
For more information please visit http://www.norml.org.nz/medical
Prepared by Chris Fowlie & Phil Saxby
For the NORML New Zealand Inc executive.
end of submission
Note from Dakta Green
“This debate will be the most high profile cannabis debate seen in this country for many years. More importantly, we will have an opportunity to identify supporters and opponents from our relatively new Parliament.
THE DAKTORY will be opening at 2pm on Wednesday 1st July so members and ANY OTHER SUPPORTERS may view the debate live on Parliament TV on the big screen.
Come and have a toke whilst they vote.
BYO
If you are over 18 years old and are interested in this debate, come and join us for a “Toke and Vote” at The Daktory. 80 Delta Ave, New Lynn.
Parliament is broadcast from 2pm. The debate on this bill will be after question time. Around 3pm I think.
See you Wednesday 1 July 2009″
Dakta Green
http://dailymedication.wordpress.com
I live in Michigan and we recently passed the law last fall. It’s based on individual Patient and Caregiver relationships not on dispensaries. How are things going to work in New Zealand?
my uncle got stomach ulcers because he took a lot of Aspirin to take care of his high blood pressure.,,`