Wagner Nicky: Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Wagner Nicky: Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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NICKY WAGNER (National) 
: 
 I rise to oppose the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill but firstly I wish to congratulate Metiria Turei on getting the bill drawn from the ballot. The Greens always seem to be particularly lucky when it comes to member’s bill ballots. I know that many Green Party supporters will be keen to see this bill passed. 
The legalisation of marijuana has been a long-time Green policy and although it has not been acknowledged recently everyone knows that the Greens would like to see marijuana made legal. I say “everyone” because time and time again when I visit schools kids tell me that they support the Greens. When I ask why I am told that it is not because they are interested in the environment and it is not because they support or even really have any knowledge of the Greens’ policies. They tell me that they support the Greens so “we can smoke dope legally Miss” and that is the problem with this bill. 
At first glance the use of cannabis by the chronically ill when they find all other medications unsuitable sounds practical and sensible but it is not quite that simple. Ross Bell from the Drug Foundation said in the  
Dominion Post  
this morning that this bill is not a debate over the change of the legal status of marijuana and that it is not a backdoor attempt to legalise marijuana because there will be tight controls over the dispensing of cannabis for medicinal use. Again that sounds sensible but tight control is hard to achieve. 
Most New Zealanders would like to see tight control on cannabis full stop. We all know the dangers of the drug particularly for young people and it is very difficult to control. It is even harder to achieve tight control. There are dozens maybe even hundreds of legal drugs that can be used to treat sick people without having to legalise a highly prized illegal recreational drug and to provide for it to be grown for personal use. I would be more sympathetic to the situation if there was not any alternative to unprocessed cannabis for medicinal purposes but there is. Sativex is a pharmaceutically based mouth spray that can be used by a patient when all traditional treatment options have failed. 
In 2008 the Health Committee reviewed the present situation and concluded that the law should not be changed to allow the possession and use of unprocessed cannabis for medicinal purposes. The Health Committee recommended that Sativex be listed as a medicine under the Medicines Act 1981. That means that it could be prescribed by a general practitioner without any need for specialist support and I and National support that recommendation. 
The advantage of Sativex is that it is a quality-controlled product. It can be prescribed in a measured dose and because it is a mouth spray it has no harmful side effects. It is a useful medicine for those who have trouble taking more traditional products and I know people who are using it very successfully. It is particularly suitable for managing HIV and AIDS and spinal injuries. It is used in the care of Alzheimer’s and for pain management. It is being used successfully and that is a positive step. 
Sativex is the only cannabis-based product available presently on the market. There are over 60 active therapeutic compounds in cannabis and there is increasing interest from scientists in creating unique new medicines from the cannabis plant. National would support any innovation in this area. But I struggle with this bill. I feel that the medicinal path is really a red herring. 
All prescription medicine of any type needs to be controlled and dispensed in a safe reliable and consistent manner. This bill suggests that seriously ill people should grow their own medicine. Is that really where we want our health system to go? I can imagine the outrage if we suggested that people grow their own penicillin on top of their jam. Sick people deserve better than that. I support the use of Sativex and also the development of new cannabis-based drugs.