Turei Metiria: Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Turei Metiria: Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) 
: 
 I move  
That the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be referred to the Health Committee. The bill establishes a compassionate regime for doctors to prescribe cannabis to those of their patients they believe would benefit from it. 
The bill takes the politics out of this critical health issue. Cannabis is medically proven to help manage pain with fewer side effects than those of other medications. The provisions in the bill would carefully control the medicinal use of cannabis so that it is prescribed only for those who really need it. I ask MPs today to at least send the bill to the select committee. There will be a conscience vote on the bill tonight and I sincerely hope that MPs will have the courage—and I accept that some will be nervous about the issue—to take a compassionate approach this evening. 
The use of cannabis as a medicine is well documented in research from the UK Israel Germany Canada and the USA. The American Medical Association the Institute of Medicine in the US the Federation of American Scientists the World Health Organization and the Royal College of Physicians in the UK all support medicinal cannabis. In New Zealand the New Zealand Medical Association supports research into the benefits of cannabis for medicinal use and the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand told the 2001 cannabis inquiry that it considers it perfectly possible to distribute medicinal cannabis if it were to be legal to do so. 
For patients ill New Zealanders those suffering from terminal illnesses and those suffering severe pain from the effects of chemotherapy and other treatments that cause such distress the issue of the medicinal use of cannabis is not to do with research; it is about relieving their daily painful suffering. Under the provisions of the bill a patient can apply for a Medicinal Cannabis Identification Card when he or she suffers from a listed condition and have the written support of his or her medical practitioner. The cardholder may cultivate and possess an amount of cannabis as agreed by the doctor of the cardholder. The Medicinal Cannabis Registration Board will keep and maintain a register of the cardholder’s details and the cardholder will be registered with the police. It is a process or scheme that very closely resembles the Canadian system for the management of medicinal cannabis. 
I have had many people come to see me write letters to me or send emails to me who plead for relief. Many are already using cannabis for pain relief nausea management or pain management of amputations. They are genuinely ill New Zealanders who are at their wits’ end and are treated by this Parliament and by the bureaucracy with contempt. They are entitled to the compassionate protection of the law. They are entitled to the medicine that works best for them. But all of those who have contacted me live in real fear both of thieves and of the law. 
Many of their fears of the law are real fears. Sick and vulnerable New Zealanders are jailed for their medical use of cannabis. I will list some cases for members’ benefit. In 1999 a tetraplegic was jailed for 12 days for possession and cultivation of six small seedlings. His treatment in prison was despicable including not being toileted for days. In 2003 a paraplegic man who used cannabis to control painful muscle spasms was sentenced to 150 hours of community service after police found two small seedlings in his home. The judge told the man he would face prison if he was found with cannabis again. In 2004 an amputee confined to a wheelchair for 30 years received a second jail sentence for medical use and possession of cannabis and again was told by the judge that his jail time would get longer should he be caught again. He was badly assaulted while in prison. 
Other patients report having their homes invaded and being robbed regularly by those who know they grow cannabis for medical use and know they are unable to fight back because of their illness. Those New Zealanders cannot turn to the police for assistance and they continue to suffer in fear of reprisals and imprisonment—all because they have found a medication that will relieve their chronic pain. They need to use it because the alternatives are much worse. Indeed the Ministry of Health recently reported to the Health Committee that cannabis has a wider safety margin with fewer short-term side effects than analgesics currently prescribed for chronic pain and disease; that medicinal cannabis appears effective and safe in all age groups; that the risks of a fatal overdose are very small with no deaths reported in the medical literature; that the long-term effects of cannabis use are minor compared with the long-term use of benzodiazepines or opiates; and that cannabis can be a real alternative to those patients who need it. 
New Zealanders should have the opportunity to present their views to Parliament. The people who are like the people in the examples I described earlier should be able to tell their stories to MPs. Those opposed to the bill should be able to present their concerns. I ask MPs simply to allow the bill to proceed to select committee so that the public doctors parents patients and families can have their say. 
I have heard a number of concerns about the bill. A doctors’ survey carried out in 2003 about medicinal cannabis showed that lung damage from smoking it was a real concern of doctors. I will make the point first that for those New Zealanders whose conditions are terminal who are soon to die in pain the health risks of smoking are meaningless if the drug relieves their suffering during the remaining stages of their lives. But for all other patients—and there are others—there are many different forms of ingestion that have very few negative health effects. I have one constituent who uses a tea because if he consumes his cannabis in any other way it is too strong and he cannot cope with it. Others use various forms such as tinctures and massage oils can be rubbed into damaged muscles and into amputated stumps in order to relieve pain. With good information doctors are able to work through the various options for use that work best for the patient. In terminal cases surely compassion has to be the dominant concern. 
Patients do not want the euphoric effects of medicinal cannabis; they simply want to be free of the perpetual pain that confines their lives. They just want to be able to do the normal things that other people do. Doctors are the experts on medications not members of Parliament. According to our doctors’ survey 6 percent said they had recommended that their patients try cannabis 10 percent said they currently had patients they believed would benefit from it and 32 percent said they would prescribe it if it were legal to do so. Why anyone would prevent patients who suffer from chronic pain from disease from accessing an effective medicine with few side effects is beyond me. In fact I consider it an act of cruelty for this Parliament to deny ill New Zealanders the best medication for them as prescribed by their doctors. 
In asking only that this bill be allowed to proceed to the select committee I finally note that if the bill were enacted New Zealand would not be a world leader or a trailblazer. In fact it would be following the example of 13 states in the US and Canada Spain the Netherlands and other countries that have a process for the provision of medicinal cannabis and whole-plant material. A number of members have expressed other concerns about the bill but I assure every member of this House that we are open to all views considerations and amendments to the bill. That is what we expect to be the outcome of the select committee process and we would welcome those contributions. 
The medicinal use of cannabis is gathering increasing support and recognition around the world in communities just like those in New Zealand and in families just like those in New Zealand. Patients just like those in New Zealand are using medicinal cannabis in a way that is controlled and managed by their doctors and by the bureaucracy and ministries of health because it is the best possible medication for those people. Communities just like ours are choosing patients over politics and compassion over cruelty. I ask that the MPs of this Parliament choose likewise. I commend the bill to the House.