Katene Rahui: Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Katene Rahui: Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:655;Page:4859] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill is essentially about allowing registered medical practitioners to prescribe cannabis to those with certain serious medical conditions such as cancer arthritis or Alzheimer’s disease. There would not be a Maori in Aotearoa who has not felt the force of those conditions so one would think that we would look at this bill with considerable sympathy. Indeed just a couple of weeks ago I lost my mother as a result of Alzheimer’s so I know only too deeply the agonising ordeal for individuals and their whanau in enduring the impacts of these illnesses. Anything that can make our loved ones’ lives easier comes within our gaze and we know there are some pretty compelling reports in medical journals around the world that support the medicinal properties of cannabis especially with pain relief anti-spasticity and anti-nausea. 
That research provides a strong basis for supporting the use of medicinal cannabis where other therapies have failed for people with very debilitating diseases and where the delivery mechanism is safe. That is where the Maori Party starts to become unstuck. Studies show the effectiveness of treatment when cannabis is applied in the form of tablets or an oral mucosal spray; it is generally well tolerated and its short-term use is safe. There are other methods: the use of tinctures inhalers and vaporisers can be used to manage the delivery of medicinal cannabis. But the reality is that we know that the most readily available form of cannabis would be through smoking it and that is where the Maori Party has objections that cannot be ignored. 
There is a host of evidence showing that the health effects of smoking cannabis are similar to smoking tobacco as the inhalation of smoke from any organic material is the harmful activity. A New Zealand study conducted last year found that regular cannabis use increases the risk of lung cancer. In essence cannabis smoke contains the same cancer-causing substances or carcinogens as tobacco. However cannabis cigarettes do not have a filter so more of the tar reaches the lungs. In addition people inhale cannabis smoke for longer than cigarette smoke—contrary to a certain US President. Part of the attraction or the addiction I understand is to get the full effect of the cannabis but that means the smoke is in contact with the lungs for longer. Therefore there is a greater respiratory burden because cannabis smokers inhale more deeply. There are other side effects associated with smoking marijuana not the least being the range of its adverse respiratory effects such as a chronic cough recurrent bronchitis and a significant impairment of lung function. Cannabis smokers are significantly more likely to experience heart complications including heart disease and sudden cardiovascular death. In a report published just last month in the  
Chemical Research in Toxicology 
 journal research indicated that as with tobacco smoke cannabis smoke damages the DNA and increases the risk of lung cancer and other cancers. 
We are genuinely conflicted about this bill. Of course we would not wish anyone to suffer the pain of chronic illness without having effective relief. I would have done anything for my mother but she would never have picked up a joint. Neither would I have wanted her to for many reasons other than pain relief; many of those reasons would have been about her mokopuna and my mokopuna. We believe that marijuana’s future as a medicine must not involve smoking it. We cannot ignore the fact that access to and legal possession of marijuana by adults for medical reasons can model exposure and access to use by children and adolescents. The issue of managing access to cannabis will always be enormously risky. The Maori Party has always believed that if we as a nation are truly committed to whanau ora we must address the social hazards that create such havoc on our health such as tobacco and cannabis smoking. We fully accept that cannabis is well known as a smooth muscle relaxant and it is useful for certain conditions and in some pain therapy but we will never agree that smoking is an acceptable means of delivery for any medicine. On those grounds the Maori Party cannot support this bill.