NZHIA Encourage you to make a submission on the Medicinal Cannabis Bill before 21 March 2018
Useful documents (links in green or bold)
- Medicinal Cannabis Bill and Explanatory notes
- Ministry of Health – Departmental Disclosure Statement
- Medicinal Cannabis 10 Day action
The proposed bill is the start of a process whereby a “medicinal Cannabis Scheme” will be created to act as a framework to allow for the regulated import, production, supply, prescription and consumption of medical cannabis products to patients.
This will be administered by a yet to be established “government agency for domestic production of medicinal cannabis”
Currently only CBD products have been defined and removed from control as a class B Drug, but they may still be controlled as a class C Drug. Medicinal cannabis products containing THC seem to have been left out of the Bill.
To make a submission click here, be prepared to give your details and make comments and recommendations to the Health Select Committee on the Medicinal Cannabis Bill
The Drug Foundation – Making a submission covers how to make a submission and a range of topics to consider
NZHIA Key points
- Fair and compassionate approach, would allow access to more than just the terminally ill
- Urgency to get this set up as soon as possible, as patients are already using it and more would do so if it was affordable, available and legal
- Wider industry consultation is required when establishing the Scheme, as currently the bill does not cover local production
- Hemp products with naturally occurring cannabinoids must be exempt from inclusions as medicinal products
- We need more detail on the ”medicinal cannabis scheme”, what products will be covered, how will they be locally sourced and what protection from prosecution will patients, care givers, prescribers, producers and growers have
- The effect of medical “CBD products” on the “hemp products” contained in the Industrial Hemp Regulations 2016. CBD will no longer be a controlled drug, will this include all other cannabinoids (excluding THC) and their acid precursors
For further information on what to include in your submission, check out
- NZHIA Draft – Medicinal cannabis submission document
- The Drug Foundation – Tell MPs you want improved access to medicinal cannabis
- Your NZ Org – Whats in Labour’s Medicinal Cannabis Bill
- MCANZ – Submission resources, their policy booklet and a submission template
- Register for notifications of the progress of the bill
- How a bill becomes law
The Health Select committee is made up of:
- Chair Louisa Wall – Labour
- Deputy Shane Reti,- National
- Jonathan Coleman – National
- Liz Craig – Labour
- Matt Doocey – National
- Anahila Kanongata’a-Suisuiki – Labour
- Nicky Wagner – National
- Angie Warren-Clark – Labour