Warren-Clark AngieANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour): Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I would just like to very quickly address the members Simeon Brown and Simon O'Connor and ask them to please have a look at the bill. The bill actually refers to cannabinoids". Now cannabinoids generally have less than 2 percent THC which is the psychoactive substance. So that's the first point I would like to make. The second point is that we are making reference here specifically to people with a terminal illness. So when we talk about smoking etc. of loose leaf I take the point that has been made. However these are terminally ill people who have a right to make the decision about their last time of their lives.Now to the speech: the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill was intended specifically to improve access to quality medicinal cannabis products and it did this in three ways—and until the Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) is tabled continues to do so. The bill proposed to do three things: to introduce a statutory defence for the use of cannabis and the use of utensils in imbibing I guess for those people with less than 12 months to live; to provide a regulation-making power to set standards for products manufactured imported or supplied—in short a licensing system. The regulations were to come subsequently. We take your point; the members opposite are concerned about this. However regulations are generally made after the bill comes into law.Finally which hasn't really been mentioned today the bill proposed to de-schedule—that's the word—cannabidiol or CBD and I think I'll say "CBD" from now on so that it is not a controlled drug. This is the non-psychoactive aspect of what we understand is in cannabis—so THC CBD—and I just wanted to make that point. This is what we're often referring to when we talk about this bill and I think that point has been lost a little on some of the members opposite.Predominantly I want to speak and talk about the submitters and I really want to do this because like the member who spoke previously essentially this was the first time that I had heard submitters in the select committee process and it was harrowing. It was difficult at times. We had people there in tears. We had people there telling us their heartfelt stories of the changes that the use of marijuana cannabis had made to their lives and I stand here and say quite frankly: who am I to disbelieve these people and who are we to disbelieve these people? That is their lived experience and it is important to acknowledge that we heard them.There were 1700-odd people—submitters. That sounds wrong "odd submitters". There were 158 oral submitters who came to speak to us and because there were so many we split. We had the honourable Shane Reti as our chairperson and I want to acknowledge your compassion during those days. I want to acknowledge particularly Damon who hitchhiked from Hamilton to tell us his story. He had five minutes. He talked about his seizures and he said this: "Do what you have to do to make sure that if the people you love get sick that there's a non poisonous solution." It was incredible. He then turned around and hitchhiked back to Hamilton and it was raining. My heart went out to that man who has suffered from a diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy—an extreme illness.I also want to acknowledge the family desperately trying to access their KiwiSaver under their hardship criteria to help their non-verbal son access Sativex. I mean this is wrong surely that we have people giving up their life savings just to help their son. They showed us pictures of the difference that Sativex had made. It cost $40 a day for them which is about $1200 and what a difference the picture that we could see. So I think that we as a Government have done our very very best to try and listen to these stories and to do what is right and I am absolutely delighted that the Opposition are talking the same language because we were all there and we all heard that and we can't unhear it and it's important that we walk forward with this.I am delighted that there will be an SOP tabled and I am delighted that palliation—palliative care—is the definition that we'll be looking at and I look forward to exploring that. I imagine that is the definition used from the WHO—the World Health Organization—which is a world standard so therefore we don't need to be too concerned about that. However that is what the next stage of this bill is about. There is much more to discuss and my time is short—it's very short—so I want to thank New Zealand First for their positive contributions to this SOP that's coming up and particularly the member Jenny Marcroft who is a new member on our Health Committee but who has constructively added to our membership absolutely with the widening of this definition and the member Chlöe Swarbricks who is not—Swarbrick—a member of the select committee but who has absolutely helped and supported us in our knowledge and our journey towards a change. I'm delighted to commend this bill to the House."