Marcroft JennyJENNY MARCROFT (NZ First): Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. Ngā mihi o Te Tau Hou ki a koe. A very happy New Year to you Mr Assistant Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to stand and speak on behalf of New Zealand First on the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill.Medicinal cannabis is an emotive and controversial subject. Most people have a position that fits into one of two categories: either they're emphatically for it or they're defiantly against it. Now either of these positions forms a point of view that is steeped in emotion. Those that are against medicinal cannabis say that any form of change to the law only provides the hippies and the dopers with a pathway to legalisation. However those of us who have watched loved ones pass from cancer and other illnesses like that understand the desire to help and support a less painful end of life phase. New Zealand First believes the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill shows compassion to those dying in terrible pain. Now this is why New Zealand First will support this piece of legislation.Just taking a look at the general policy statement in the bill's explanatory note the bill will amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. It will introduce an exception and a statutory defence for terminally ill people to possess and use illicit cannabis and to possess a cannabis utensil. It'll also provide a regulation-making power to enable the setting of standards that products manufactured imported and supplied under licence must meet. We also note that it will amend schedule 2 of the Act so that cannabidiol—that's the CBD—and CBD products are no longer classed as controlled drugs.Like many people I have a story to tell. I'm not a doctor and I acknowledge the doctors that have spoken in the House today already on this topic but I have a personal story relating to cancer and the passing of my mother. My story is like many of those that have this very same story; it's not a unique story unfortunately it's a very common tale. It's a story of a slow and an excruciating end. It's about the darkness of pain that strips dignity the darkness of pain that bears humanity and the darkness of pain that brings unbearable suffering that in the end removes life itself.As a child I watched in horror as breast cancer wiped the laughter and the joy from my mother. Her creative spark of life was extinguished as survival for the quest of healing became her sole focus. As one of five children we watched our very own worst nightmare unveil itself in broad daylight. My mother had five children and we watched Helen's pain and suffering and it was so great that we were sent away to a safe place farmed out to the care of family and foster homes as our mother went about the business of trying not to die. She was in such intense pain that the adults at the time decided that it was much better for these children these five Marcroft children to not see their mother in this state. But I wonder if she had been able to access something like medicinal cannabis something that was going to be able to alleviate her pain maybe her children would have been able to stay with her during her final months. Maybe she wouldn't have been on her own without her children as she faced her death. And perhaps the agony that she braved wouldn't be for ever imprinted in my DNA or in my heart.Thousands of New Zealanders die every year from cancer. We don't know how many choose to use medicinal cannabis for analgesia for pain relief but we do know that more research is needed. There is a substantial amount of anecdotal evidence and strong research needs to sit alongside this. This bill is a tightening of the focus around the use of medicinal cannabis. It's a very good start. It's a small shift and it will enable more time to investigate all aspects of this issue.New Zealand First is very interested to hear at select committee from all manner of submitters. Law changes must be made to reflect the changing values and needs of a just society. This piece of legislation will do exactly that. New Zealand First is supporting this bill also because it legalises CBD but not the psychoactive substance THC.Just looking now at a piece of science and this is from the New Zealand Medical Association—their medicinal cannabis position statement. It reads: The leaves and flowers of cannabis contain ... at least 100 different phytocannabinoids: the two major constituents [being] tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC is responsible for most of the psychoactive properties of cannabis including effects sought by recreational users. CBD has ... properties and may moderate some of the psychoactive effects of [the] THC."Also to note although I may not be a doctor I have a most excellent general practitioner. According to my doctor—Dr Kate Baddock who is also the chair of the New Zealand Medical Association board—in her commentary on cannabis in the NZMJ Digest of July 2017 she writes that "CBD is well tolerated in doses of up to 1500 mg a day and has a role as an anticonvulsant in intractable epilepsy and as a muscle relaxant for spasm as seen in multiple sclerosis. As CBD is an allosteric modulator of both the mu- and delta-opioid receptors it also has a role in alleviating chronic pain."This is the thing. It's the chronic pain and the potential criminal convictions. These are the two issues making criminals of dying people. These are the emotive issues. This is the issue that has galvanised a population. These are the issues that have made headlines in our media.I would just like to tell you Andy's story. Andy was a 60-year-old New Zealander. A very average typical Kiwi. He of course suffered cancer and started wasting away. He was really distressed that the only relief he could find was by smoking some marijuana. He hated the fact that he was committing a crime and so he told none of his friends or his family about what he was doing but it was giving him some pain relief. Also he was wasting away. He had no appetite and it stimulated his appetite. So he was able to have some dignity at the end through using an illegal substance. All his friends—he thought they didn't know but they actually kept his secret as well. So they too were part of that little conspiracy. He never talked about smoking the weed but he was able to find some relief from it.The fear of prosecution was a reality for everyone involved in his story. So here we have a group of family and also a group of friends keeping Andy's cannabis secret while he literally over a period of time died before their eyes.There are those who will point to a lack of research into CBD and that has merit because it's difficult to measure an illegal activity with accuracy. The scientific community will be keenly watching this space along with Australia and 25 other countries who are legalising CBD for medicinal use.So now I'd like to sum up New Zealand First's position on this bill. We support the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill. We support the aim to reduce the pain and suffering of those afflicted with terminal illness. We believe the bill reflects the values of many New Zealanders and it balances compassion and the obvious legal problems with a very reasonable approach. We support the decision to allow only CBD and not THC. We do not support blanket legalisation of all cannabis. We point to the overwhelming evidence of the harms of THC to our country specifically to our developing youth and the harm of drug-driving. We hope though that the scientific community provides more research. With better understanding comes better application of sensible laws and we support the approach of a regulatory body to produce standards for domestic production and imported medicines.So we believe that this bill will take a small step not a giant leap and New Zealand First will support this bill the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill. Kia ora koutou."