I asked the Ministry of Health when they would be legalising medicinal cannabis in NZ, especially raw high-cannabidoil (CBD) leaves, and there reply is of course that there policy is to keep it illegal and continue to prescribe pharmaceuticals:
Dear Mike
Thank you for email. My apologies that the Ministry has not responded to you sooner.
The following overview is intended to provide a summary of the Government's position on the growing of cannabis, its medical use and clinical trials.
The Government currently has no plans to make changes to legislation around cannabis or its use. It has also recently ruled out initiating clinical trials on medical cannabis.
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 makes provision for the prescribing, possession and use of controlled drugs, including cannabis, in certain circumstances. A licence for this purpose, issued by the Director-General of Health, is required and is issued only when strict criteria are met. A person or company can also apply to the Ministry to cultivate a prohibited plant, including cannabis, under section 9 of the Act. The Ministry has never received a formal application for the cultivation or possession of cannabis for the treatment of medical conditions.
However, whilst these provisions exist under the Act, the Ministry does not support the use of unprocessed leaf cannabis for the treatment of serious medical conditions. There are potential harms from smoking cannabis and, although these harms can be mitigated through the use of vaporisers or alternative routes of administration, there are no controls over the titration, potency or quality of unprocessed cannabis. There is also the risk of contaminants in unprocessed cannabis, such as mould, which could be harmful for people with compromised immune systems. In addition, there is the potential for the diversion of cannabis cultivated for medical purposes to an illegal market.
In the case of certain serious conditions for which traditional treatments have not worked, there is provision for the use of pharmaceutical preparations of cannabis. Currently, the Ministry allows for the prescribing of Sativex®. Sativex® is a THC-based mouth spray manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals. The Ministry has developed guidelines which set out the requirements for the prescription of Sativex® including the specified medical conditions and specialist endorsement (
http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/RIss/SativexApplicationApprovalForm.doc). Sativex has recently become an approved treatment in New Zealand for muscle spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients.
For all other conditions, Sativex® is not an approved medicine and is prescribed under Section 29 of the Medicines Act 1981 which permits the "off label" use of medications for certain medical conditions provided the standard treatments have been trialled without success. Sativex® is not a subsidised medicine and so the patient must pay for their own prescription if their application is successful. As a cannabis preparation, Sativex® is a Class B controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 and requires endorsement from a medical specialist and Ministerial approval (this approval is delegated to the Manager of Medsafe).
In 2009, the Health Select Committee produced a report in relation to a petition by NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) requesting the legal use of leaf cannabis to treat serious medical conditions. In its findings, the Health Committee did not support the medical use of leaf cannabis but made two recommendations to the Government, namely: that Sativex® be listed as a medicine under the Medicines Act and that the Government continue to make pharmaceutical grade THC medicines available for serious medical conditions. The Government accepted both the recommendations: the application by GW Pharmaceuticals is being considered and the Government will continue to make Sativex® available.
Regards
Bruce Atmore
Senior Policy Analyst
Sector & Services Policy
Ministry of Health
DDI: 04 816 4386
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