Robert Celt
New Member
It's high time all the huffing and puffing about the Government not doing anything to broaden access to medicinal cannabis had some facts thrown in the mix.
In the past fortnight two notable Kiwis, namely the late Martin Crowe, and Sir Paul Holmes, have hit the headlines for their use of medicinal cannabis.
In the case of Crowe it was an old friend who revealed he'd used the drug for pain relief in his dying days and for Holmes, his wife Lady Deborah Holmes, confirmed he too had taken it to ease his struggle with prostate cancer.
Neither chose to highlight their use while they were still alive - but to be honest who can blame them given how well known they were and the frenzy that would have ensued.
The issue has become such a hot potato, not helped by misreporting, with the inevitable emotion that takes over when navigating drug access and political agendas.
The problem with the Crowe and Holmes stories is that they highlighted a growing debate but also, through no fault of their own, held up as reasons why medicinal cannabis should be a free-for-all.
That is a difficult pill to swallow given it implies their opinion is more worthy or holds more weight than anyone else's and, frankly, people should be offended by that notion.
This idea is being led by campaigners set on medicinal cannabis being available at the pharmacy overnight and, sadly, two respected men who lost their battles with cancer have been caught up in it.
The reality is simple. The Government is not sitting on its hands doing nothing. In fact Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne is one of many driving change.
Just last month he called for a review of the guidelines for considering medicinal cannabis applications.
As it stands the only approved medicinal cannabis in New Zealand is the mouth spray, Sativex. It is not funded by Pharmac and costs over $1000 a month. Any other product must be approved by Dunne.
As of the end of January the ministry had received 120 applications for medicinal cannabis, of which 105 have been approved. Another five are still in progress and 10 have not been granted for various reasons.
So there it is - people are applying for access to medicinal cannabis and in most cases being granted it.
Dunne is on the record saying he is keeping a close watch on research and random-control trials of cannabinoid products in Israel and the United States. Once manufacturers make a product and it passes MedSafe checks it will be available in New Zealand.
The point in doing it this way is that it makes no sense to reinvent the wheel in New Zealand.
We're not big enough to have the medical professionals and patients available to do the trials so it makes sense to piggy-back where possible, including in Australia.
In short, if the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves something in America, which is only a matter of time, there's no reason it wouldn't be of a good enough standard for New Zealand.
Then it would be a case of Pharmac negotiating a price and potentially subsidising it.
In New Zealand Dunne and the Ministry of Health are increasingly looking at drug-related issues primarily as health issues (this was set out in the recently released 2015-2020 National Drug Policy).
The other positive movement in all this is Prime Minister John Key moving away from his staunch position that there was no need to look at the system as it stands, to instead being open to research and evidence that shows the efficacy of medicinal cannabis.
While ministers including Gerry Brownlee, Paula Bennett and Paul Goldsmith have publicly stated they wouldn't support broadening access, their opinion may not matter.
A law change is almost entirely unnecessary. It would simply be a case of having medicinal cannabis products regulated under the Medicines Act 1981..
Another MP beating the drum for broader access is Labour's Damien O'Connor. He's working on a member's bill, although it is unlikely it will be needed.
O'Connor jumped on board when Nelson teenager, Alex Renton, was applying for access to the cannabinoid Elixinol.
Dunne signed off on the drug within hours of receiving the application, but the following month Renton passed away.
Elixinol has very low traces of THC - the active ingredient that gives people a high - in some cases no THC at all can be detected in the product.
For that reason the producers of Elixinol are on the verge of seeking court action over why New Zealand Customs is confiscating it from Kiwis at the border.
Customs is acting under the instruction of the Ministry of Health who say cannabidiol, found in concentrations of about 18 per cent in Elixinol, is classified as a Class B1 controlled drug.
Also, any amount of THC in a product can't be imported without a licence.
This will be a space to watch, but won't immediately help people like former Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly, who is trying to access an entirely different product.
While her application has since been withdrawn there was initially a lot of false reporting over why her application had been put on hold by Dunne.
When the necessary information wasn't delivered, on Dunne's instruction the ministry went back to her oncologist and stated what was needed.
For whatever reason the oncologist was off the grid for about 10 days and that was why the clock was ticking and nothing was happening.
The application was never rejected or turned down, it was just put on hold until the necessary information was sought.
Kelly's oncologist was unable to get that information and recently the application has been withdrawn.
While there's plenty of sympathy for her situation, some argue there's too much information needed and Kelly should just be given what she's asking for.
In some worlds that might work, but really, are people suggesting we want a minister to just sign off on drugs willy-nilly?
What happens when he does that and someone gets really sick, or worse dies, then who will be responsible?
We live in a country where there's processes for doing things and, yes, they're tedious at times, but the flipside of that is we live in a country where making sure people aren't put at greater risk is considered a priority.
Nobody should turn their nose up at that.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: New Zealand Guidelines For Medicinal Cannabis Applications Are Under Review
Author: Jo Moir
Contact: Stuff
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Website: Stuff
In the past fortnight two notable Kiwis, namely the late Martin Crowe, and Sir Paul Holmes, have hit the headlines for their use of medicinal cannabis.
In the case of Crowe it was an old friend who revealed he'd used the drug for pain relief in his dying days and for Holmes, his wife Lady Deborah Holmes, confirmed he too had taken it to ease his struggle with prostate cancer.
Neither chose to highlight their use while they were still alive - but to be honest who can blame them given how well known they were and the frenzy that would have ensued.
The issue has become such a hot potato, not helped by misreporting, with the inevitable emotion that takes over when navigating drug access and political agendas.
The problem with the Crowe and Holmes stories is that they highlighted a growing debate but also, through no fault of their own, held up as reasons why medicinal cannabis should be a free-for-all.
That is a difficult pill to swallow given it implies their opinion is more worthy or holds more weight than anyone else's and, frankly, people should be offended by that notion.
This idea is being led by campaigners set on medicinal cannabis being available at the pharmacy overnight and, sadly, two respected men who lost their battles with cancer have been caught up in it.
The reality is simple. The Government is not sitting on its hands doing nothing. In fact Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne is one of many driving change.
Just last month he called for a review of the guidelines for considering medicinal cannabis applications.
As it stands the only approved medicinal cannabis in New Zealand is the mouth spray, Sativex. It is not funded by Pharmac and costs over $1000 a month. Any other product must be approved by Dunne.
As of the end of January the ministry had received 120 applications for medicinal cannabis, of which 105 have been approved. Another five are still in progress and 10 have not been granted for various reasons.
So there it is - people are applying for access to medicinal cannabis and in most cases being granted it.
Dunne is on the record saying he is keeping a close watch on research and random-control trials of cannabinoid products in Israel and the United States. Once manufacturers make a product and it passes MedSafe checks it will be available in New Zealand.
The point in doing it this way is that it makes no sense to reinvent the wheel in New Zealand.
We're not big enough to have the medical professionals and patients available to do the trials so it makes sense to piggy-back where possible, including in Australia.
In short, if the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves something in America, which is only a matter of time, there's no reason it wouldn't be of a good enough standard for New Zealand.
Then it would be a case of Pharmac negotiating a price and potentially subsidising it.
In New Zealand Dunne and the Ministry of Health are increasingly looking at drug-related issues primarily as health issues (this was set out in the recently released 2015-2020 National Drug Policy).
The other positive movement in all this is Prime Minister John Key moving away from his staunch position that there was no need to look at the system as it stands, to instead being open to research and evidence that shows the efficacy of medicinal cannabis.
While ministers including Gerry Brownlee, Paula Bennett and Paul Goldsmith have publicly stated they wouldn't support broadening access, their opinion may not matter.
A law change is almost entirely unnecessary. It would simply be a case of having medicinal cannabis products regulated under the Medicines Act 1981..
Another MP beating the drum for broader access is Labour's Damien O'Connor. He's working on a member's bill, although it is unlikely it will be needed.
O'Connor jumped on board when Nelson teenager, Alex Renton, was applying for access to the cannabinoid Elixinol.
Dunne signed off on the drug within hours of receiving the application, but the following month Renton passed away.
Elixinol has very low traces of THC - the active ingredient that gives people a high - in some cases no THC at all can be detected in the product.
For that reason the producers of Elixinol are on the verge of seeking court action over why New Zealand Customs is confiscating it from Kiwis at the border.
Customs is acting under the instruction of the Ministry of Health who say cannabidiol, found in concentrations of about 18 per cent in Elixinol, is classified as a Class B1 controlled drug.
Also, any amount of THC in a product can't be imported without a licence.
This will be a space to watch, but won't immediately help people like former Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly, who is trying to access an entirely different product.
While her application has since been withdrawn there was initially a lot of false reporting over why her application had been put on hold by Dunne.
When the necessary information wasn't delivered, on Dunne's instruction the ministry went back to her oncologist and stated what was needed.
For whatever reason the oncologist was off the grid for about 10 days and that was why the clock was ticking and nothing was happening.
The application was never rejected or turned down, it was just put on hold until the necessary information was sought.
Kelly's oncologist was unable to get that information and recently the application has been withdrawn.
While there's plenty of sympathy for her situation, some argue there's too much information needed and Kelly should just be given what she's asking for.
In some worlds that might work, but really, are people suggesting we want a minister to just sign off on drugs willy-nilly?
What happens when he does that and someone gets really sick, or worse dies, then who will be responsible?
We live in a country where there's processes for doing things and, yes, they're tedious at times, but the flipside of that is we live in a country where making sure people aren't put at greater risk is considered a priority.
Nobody should turn their nose up at that.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: New Zealand Guidelines For Medicinal Cannabis Applications Are Under Review
Author: Jo Moir
Contact: Stuff
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Website: Stuff
