Wall LouisaLOUISA WALL (Labour—Manurewa): Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. What an incredibly special piece of legislation to be speaking on in this concluding speech on the medicinal cannabis law reform bill. I want to commend my colleague Dr David Clark for bringing this law reform to the House.And just for our knowledge the call for law reform came in 2011. Our Law Commission recommendation 134 in a report titled Controlling and Regulating Drugs: A Review of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 actually highlighted that as a Parliament we needed to address this issue. So our law reform will enable us to join countries such as Canada Germany the Netherlands Spain Israel half the US states and from two years ago New South Wales and Victoria.The interesting thing about the law reform as it stood within those countries has also been the development of economic opportunities. So by 2025 the medicinal cannabis export market is tipped to be valued at nearly $60 billion. So there are opportunities that come from this piece of legislation in addition to what we're trying to do which is to provide a remedy for people who have terminal conditions where actually cannabis is providing the relief that they need to exist to live with chronic pain and to live with a circumstance that is incredibly debilitating. I have to admit that I have lived in a household with someone who had a chronic condition and they had to have marijuana almost on a daily basis to be able to exist. That person worked full-time; they participated fully in society but for them to get a decent night's sleep actually they had to use marijuana. There wasn't anything else that could mitigate the devastating consequences of their particular illness.So in preparing for the debate tonight I looked at when there was the first recorded mention of cannabis in any form of encyclopaedia and I found a reference. It was published in 2700 BC and it was an encyclopaedia by the Emperor Shen Neng called The Great Herbal. I was talking to my colleague Raymond Huo about it. The classification of cannabis as a medicinal plant as a medicinal medical and therapeutic tool—in cough syrups as a digestive aid as a pain killer—actually throughout our history is recorded. It was only in the 1930s that we changed that designation and there was a prohibition. In addition to cannabis there was a prohibition on opiates. But the reality of cannabis is that it has historically been used and recognised for its medicinal qualities.I think the problem that we all have today is that some people don't use it as a medicinal tool or a medicinal aid. Some people do like using it for recreational issues and for spiritual purposes or whatever and it's not medicinal in nature. I think it's really important to focus on the purpose of this piece of legislation and the purpose of using cannabis as a medicinal tool. I noted some of the comments by my colleague Simon O'Connor and I know that as a previous chair of the Health Committee they addressed a petition under the name of William Rea—remember that petition?So this Parliament has actually dedicated quite a bit of time to that Law Commission recommendation to the call from the public and now we have a Government and a Minister who has responded and we have prioritised this issue. So we make no—what's the right word? We're really proud that it was included in our 100-day plan. Some people may criticise us for that and say this isn't a priority but the reality is it is a priority and for us to stand with people in our community those with terminal illnesses who need the support of this product I think is incredibly important for them.We have heard about people who have got multiple sclerosis we've heard about people who've got dilating blood vessels and there are issues about people who have bone growth issues and medicinal cannabis does provide a protection for damaged brain cells it does interfere with certain types of cancer cells it prevent seizures and it controls muscle spasticity. There are so many remedies and treatments—or ailments I should say—that medicinal cannabis is effective for that it just seems you know beyond time that this Parliament is actually addressing this issue.I did manage to find one piece of clinical research and it was from a Canadian study. The researcher was Dr Mark Ware who's also an associate professor from McGill University in Montreal. What they did was they looked at how marijuana could relieve chronic nerve pain—so people who had injuries people who had undergone surgeries—and the reality of the evidence was that having three puffs of this product this cannabinoid product reduced pain and people were able to sleep better. So anybody who actually has any issues about cannabis being used as a medicinal aid really needs look at the evidence.From what I've heard in the House tonight there seems to be general consensus about the issue. I certainly look forward as a member of the Health Committee to hearing the evidence. I'm pretty hopeful that the Parliament will pass this issue because like many people I have watched and heard from people who are most affected by a lack of access to medicinal cannabis.One of the things I did want to highlight in my contribution was that the Australians have now approved for their cannabinoid or their medicinal cannabis products to be exported and that was literally on 5 January. So if people are worried about a supply then they need not be because we have access just across the Tasman and it's one of the things I think we should be collaborating with our Australian cousins on because they have an aspiration to be the number one medicinal cannabis supplier in the world and I do think there's an opportunity for us to collaborate and work with them.I just wanted to highlight that we do have some clinical trials being undertaken in New Zealand in Ruatōria by Hikurangi Hemp. It's a medical research project. I think their products are about to be harvested in the next couple of months and by the end of this year they are hoping that they will have a product that you spray pretty much like Sativex that can be used in our own market that's home-grown and that we can export to the rest of the world. Jan Logie and I were talking earlier because Manu Caddie I think has gone on Facebook—it's a crowdfunding initiative and they're asking for different flavours. But the innovation and the opportunity that this piece of legislation provides also provides that broader context and that broader ability for us to stand up in the world and contribute to what is an emerging and growing issue.I think that natural products and the whole alternative to pharmaceutical products is another issue that we all should think seriously about and if we want to talk about regional development opportunities this is potentially one of those.So I won't delay the debate much longer and I really look forward with my colleagues to hearing from New Zealanders. So this is a plea: please make submissions please talk about the relevance of this legislation to you personally to your family and friends but also let's highlight the potential opportunities that now sit before us as a nation. Kia ora.Bill read a first time. Bill referred to the Health Committee.