"This does not make it legal for the terminally
ill to use cannabis, but it means that they will
not be criminalised for doing so."
It will still be an offence to supply cannabis to
terminally ill people with less than 12 months
to live, unless there is a valid prescription
from a doctor.
The Government has not set an end-date for
the legal defence.
National Party leader Bill English says the
Bill needs a lot of work.
"There are some quite tricky issues.
For instance, it will be legal to procure
marijuana, but it doesn't look like it's legal to
supply it, so there will be some issues to sort
out."
There is only one pharmaceutical-grade
cannabi s product available in New Zealand -
Sativex - and it's currently unsubsidised.
The other available product is not
pharmaceutical-grade.
The New Zealand Medical Association says
the cost of Sativex is "a considerable barrier
to its use", and the process for Ministerial
approval is "overly time-consuming and
bureaucratic".
There's no guarantee Pharmac will decide to
subsidise medicinal cannabis - it operates
independently of the Minister and the
Ministry of Health. In 2015, funding for
Sativex was declined "due to weak or no
available evidence".
But while NZMA wants more research into
medicinal cannabis, it's wary of cannabis
being smoked.
"Given the possible harms associated with
smoking cannabis and the availability of other
modes of administration, it is difficult to
justify a place for smoked cannabis as a
medicine," it warned in November.
This Bill will pass with support from the
entire Government bloc, but it's not the only
Bill on medicinal cannabis that politicians
will have to think about.
A Member's Bill that would allow wider use
will surface for debate early next year.
Originally in Green MP Julie-Anne Genter's
name, it will allow anyone with a debilitating
condition to legally smoke cannabis with a
doctor's sign-off. It's expected to be a
conscience vote.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/201
7/12/government-rules-terminally-ill-people-
allowed-to-smoke-cannabis.html