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David Clark: Government changes to make access to medicinal cannabis faster
Changes to the Government’s medicinal cannabis legislation will mean more people can access products faster.
The Health Minister has outlined those changes during the second reading of the Medicinal Cannabis Amendment Bill.
David Clark told Mike Hosking he wants to extend its use to all people needing palliative relief, rather than just those with a year or less to live.
"The Bill was originally drafted with the word terminal care in it. That was really just the last 12 months of life. This is where people have severe degenerative disease, they are on their way out but that's a medicinal call, a clinical call that doctors are placed to make on an individual basis."
"We have got a referendum on cannabis itself later on [but] this is about the medicinal products."
"Part of the reason we looked at chronic pain as well, for which there are lots of calls for a more liberal approach, here we are going with what there is clear evidence around."
"If you extended it to chronic pain you would basically be de-facto legalising the product."
He said the legislation will also allow for domestic manufacture because there is a supply shortage of medicinal cannabis in the world.
"In the wider world, there is a real shortage of supply of medicinal cannabis and that's part of the reason it is so expensive."
"If you look at the market, supply and demand are the things that dictate price. And also doctors won't prescribe anything unless they know exactly what's in it."
"So we are setting up a domestic scheme as part of the response that is in the legislation and that will mean that we will have a known quality of product that can then go onto the market."
A regulatory agency will monitor who can produce medicinal cannabis.
National is supporting the bill for now but wants changes before its support goes any further.
Spokesperson Shane Reti said they want to know what the Government means by palliative care, particularly if that covers chronic pain.
"Even the minister's own officials told him, 'don't put chronic pain in the terminal exemptions, there are a whole lot of problems doing that'. Our solution would be, we don't think politicians should be deciding the diseases that are in and out of the medicinal cannabis scheme."
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By Newstalk ZBChanges to the Government’s medicinal cannabis legislation will mean more people can access products faster.
The Health Minister has outlined those changes during the second reading of the Medicinal Cannabis Amendment Bill.
David Clark told Mike Hosking he wants to extend its use to all people needing palliative relief, rather than just those with a year or less to live.
"The Bill was originally drafted with the word terminal care in it. That was really just the last 12 months of life. This is where people have severe degenerative disease, they are on their way out but that's a medicinal call, a clinical call that doctors are placed to make on an individual basis."
"We have got a referendum on cannabis itself later on [but] this is about the medicinal products."
"Part of the reason we looked at chronic pain as well, for which there are lots of calls for a more liberal approach, here we are going with what there is clear evidence around."
"If you extended it to chronic pain you would basically be de-facto legalising the product."
He said the legislation will also allow for domestic manufacture because there is a supply shortage of medicinal cannabis in the world.
"In the wider world, there is a real shortage of supply of medicinal cannabis and that's part of the reason it is so expensive."
"If you look at the market, supply and demand are the things that dictate price. And also doctors won't prescribe anything unless they know exactly what's in it."
"So we are setting up a domestic scheme as part of the response that is in the legislation and that will mean that we will have a known quality of product that can then go onto the market."
A regulatory agency will monitor who can produce medicinal cannabis.
National is supporting the bill for now but wants changes before its support goes any further.
Spokesperson Shane Reti said they want to know what the Government means by palliative care, particularly if that covers chronic pain.
"Even the minister's own officials told him, 'don't put chronic pain in the terminal exemptions, there are a whole lot of problems doing that'. Our solution would be, we don't think politicians should be deciding the diseases that are in and out of the medicinal cannabis scheme."