Craig LizDr LIZ CRAIG (Labour): Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker. Today is a really big milestone not only for the Health Committee that heard the submissions on this bill but for all of those who shared their stories for us. What I want to be really clear about is that this bill is not about the de facto decriminalisation of illicit cannabis use as asserted by members opposite; it's actually about ensuring that those who are suffering can access medical cannabis on prescription.What I want to talk about briefly is just what people told us in that select committee process because many people came and shared their stories—many people with really severe arthritis basically suffering from intractable epilepsy in chronic pain. What they were telling us was that their current medication just wasn't relieving their symptoms and that they were getting some relief from medicinal cannabis. They were also telling us that if they could access medicinal cannabis on prescription it was really really expensive—many families paying over $1000 a month just for their child or themselves to get that relief. For those who couldn't access that it was really difficult to access in other ways. One of the other things that people talked about was the need for the scope of that exemption to be widened beyond those just with a terminal illness with less than a year to live. But we also received some advice about how much we could broaden that scope because I think the sense is that if you are using illicit cannabis it's very difficult to look at what the strength of those psychoactive components are and there is a significant side-effect profile for some people. So there were some constraints on how broad we went with those exemptions. We also heard that the current evidence for the use of medicinal cannabis in things like chronic pain wasn't quite all there yet. There was some evidence of effectiveness but it wasn't completely conclusive and we'd need further research to really get a sense of what it would be used for best uses and what it wasn't that useful for. That's an ongoing evolving field. Now having gone through the select committee process what does this bill actually do? I think the first thing is it allows those regulations to be developed that would set those quality standards for medicinal cannabis products. That's not only talking about how they should be cultivated locally and manufactured locally but also the products that are imported from overseas. The medical cannabis scheme that's set up will ensure that products brought into New Zealand or produced in New Zealand will meet those quality standards. As the Minister's indicated in his speech consultation will happen on that next year because given the urgency of the need for accessing these products for many people we've set that one-year time limit for putting those regulations into place. The issue we've got is that we believe that regulations are the best place for doing that. Unlike the members opposite who want to set that in concrete in the primary legislation the issue we've got is that we've got an evolving field and we feel that regulations and standards are the best way we can adapt and get those regulations and standards to move with research as it evolves. So for us we're very supportive of all that detail being worked out with key experts in the field and in consultation next year. But as I've said there's some urgency in doing that. In the Minister's Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) in the committee stage he introduced that one-year requirement so that we can get on and get that done. But even having done that it will take a while for the manufacturers to get up to speed in terms of having products accessible and available. That's where we've broadened the scope of that defence so that it includes all those needing palliation. That's a progressive life-limiting condition where people are nearing the end of their lives. So that's what the bill does; what the bill doesn't do is it doesn't de facto decriminalise the use of illicit cannabis as I've mentioned. Hon Dr Nick Smith: Will loose leaf be allowed?Dr LIZ CRAIG: The other thing that it doesn't do is it doesn't have politicians deciding who gets access to medicinal cannabis because at the moment doctors can still prescribe medicinal cannabis to anybody that they believe would benefit from having cannabis. The issue we've got is access and so this bill in no way changes who will be prescribed medicinal cannabis. Hon Dr Nick Smith: Well does it allow loose leaf?Dr LIZ CRAIG: What it is talking about is that exemption for those until that scheme is set up in terms of the usage of illicit cannabis until that time.Hon Dr Nick Smith: Can they use loose leaf?ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Order! Dr Smith.Dr LIZ CRAIG: This bill significantly changes the status quo. It sets up a regulation scheme and some standards. It means that people will in time be able to access medicinal cannabis products that are produced to a certain standard and in the meantime provides a statutory defence so that those using illicit cannabis may not fear prosecution. I commend this bill to the House.