 | NORML Press Releases: Medicinal Cannabis Bill put to historic 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.
This is the first time that a bill aimed at rolling back some of the harsher provisions of our War on Drugs has ever been put to a vote in the New Zealand Parliament. This is well behind many other developed and affluent nations who have already put forth medical cannabis laws. And yet all previous amendments to the Misuse of
Drugs Act have been aimed at making sanctions tougher and even more inhumane.
NORML calls upon all Members of Parliament to put aside politics, show compassion and support this Bill for its First Reading. Let the issue go to select committee so it can be debated and the people of New Zealand can have their say.
Why the bill is needed
Cannabis is a 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.
Although these findings have been documented, doctors are ignored and 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 (such as morphine) rather than a natural herb that has been described by The Lancet as the “aspirin of the 21st century”.
While the Misuse of Drugs Act allows the Minister of Health to allow 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 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.
Letting patients grow their own medicinal cannabis is not unusual
Many nations around the world now allow the medicinal use of whole natural cannabis, including:
USA: thirteen states have legalised medicinal cannabis, allowing patients to grow their own, buy it from dispensaries, or in some cases 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). Click here for a Summary of US state medical cannabis programs
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.
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