Robert Celt
New Member
In the world of medical cannabis, I'm a citizen of two realities.
Reality 1 is in California, where I was born and raised. When I visit my mum there, she drives me to our family doctor to get my cannabis prescription. At home, I phone in my order; two hours later, a friendly young guy delivers cannabis buds bred for treating muscle pain, and powerful cannabis-infused chocolates. We exchange medicine and money standing in the sunlight, in front of the suburban house where I grew up. If I still lived here, I could grow six cannabis plants in the backyard.
In Reality 2, I am told I have the right to remain silent. Three NZ police officers spend hours searching my house and rifling through my computer and cell phone. I tell them that I have a severe chronic pain condition and hold a medical cannabis prescription. They seize everything they can find. I'm hit with criminal charges totalling up to nine years in prison.
Fortunately, most people inhabiting Reality 2 seem ready to move toward Reality 1 — including the judge who eventually discharged me without conviction. Messages of support and donations toward my legal fees have flooded my inbox. Polls say 70 per cent of Kiwis favour medicinal cannabis legalisation. I am grateful.
However, this gratitude does not detract from my outrage. I am outraged that a few people who are unready for change hold disproportionate power, and are withholding medicine from suffering people.
In the wake of my case, numerous families have contacted me, seeking relief for loved ones suffering from crippling arthritic pain, debilitating epilepsy, Tourette's syndrome, cancer — wondering, asking, desperate. Most of these people already know that cannabis oil helps their condition, and are begging for tips on how to get it.
Our government seems to understand that the writing is finally on the wall. Now that Australia is on its way to a medical cannabis regime, New Zealand can't be a fortress forever — it's going to happen here. This is especially true in light of one path opened by my case. As my lawyer successfully argued, under the Misuse of Drugs Act, one can physically bring a controlled drug (i.e. cannabis) into New Zealand, if it's been lawfully supplied overseas to treat a medical condition.
It's a small win, but it's thrilling to force the gatekeepers of Reality 2 to formally acknowledge the medical system of Reality 1.
However, Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne, in his hints that medical cannabis will happen here, has also dropped some worrying signs about how he wants it to happen.
Most concerningly, he appears inclined to restrict medical cannabis to expensive, processed pharmaceutical-type products. First, when my case went public, Minister Dunne said that one couldn't lawfully bring medical cannabis into NZ.
After he finally backtracked and admitted it was legal, he told the Nelson Mail that patients can bring cannabis-derived medications into the country, but not "raw cannabis." Health Minister Jonathan Coleman drew the same battle line this week, saying medical cannabis can only be "an extract in a medicine under a proper clinical trial."
Both ministers are ignoring international medical practice. The cannabis plant is medicine. Raw cannabis is covered by my prescription. The raw plant is being used to treat patients across the US, Canada, Israel, and elsewhere. Inhaling through a vaporiser is a healthy alternative to smoking; the immediate relief and titratable dose make this important for many patients. Almost everywhere that medical cannabis is legal, the herb itself is legal, and in many places patients can grow their own.
Minister Dunne now says he will watch Australia's cannabis research trials over the next few years, and after that, New Zealand could allow specific pharmaceutical products approved in Australia.
But dozens of scientific trials have already shown that cannabis relieves diverse pain syndromes. In the US, children are being treated for epilepsy with cannabis oil alone. Cancer patients are finding relief from their pain and nausea. Why do we need to wait for years of trials in Australia? Do the rules of the human body work differently in the Southern Hemisphere?
Currently, individuals can apply for special Ministry of Health permission to use medical cannabis products, but the product must meet a list of arcane pharmaceutical drug criteria, such as proven success in lab animal studies. None of the affordable, effective medical cannabis products that I use in the US would meet the New Zealand Ministry of Health guidelines. I guess the experience of thousands of patients like myself doesn't count as an animal study.
The legal cannabis industry is worth billions of dollars worldwide. The state of Colorado collects over US$125 million yearly in taxes on cannabis sales. But our supposedly economic-minded government seems keen to sit this one out. Why?
In the 1930s, Reefer Madness, a propaganda film, tried to scare people away from cannabis. But it was fictional. The true cases of reefer-related madness are on display in the Beehive. I hope we can help them get over it soon — for the sake of everyone's health.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: New Zealand: No Reason To Delay Medical Cannabis
Author: Rebecca Reider
Contact: Stuff
Photo Credit:
Website: Stuff - Nelson Mail
Reality 1 is in California, where I was born and raised. When I visit my mum there, she drives me to our family doctor to get my cannabis prescription. At home, I phone in my order; two hours later, a friendly young guy delivers cannabis buds bred for treating muscle pain, and powerful cannabis-infused chocolates. We exchange medicine and money standing in the sunlight, in front of the suburban house where I grew up. If I still lived here, I could grow six cannabis plants in the backyard.
In Reality 2, I am told I have the right to remain silent. Three NZ police officers spend hours searching my house and rifling through my computer and cell phone. I tell them that I have a severe chronic pain condition and hold a medical cannabis prescription. They seize everything they can find. I'm hit with criminal charges totalling up to nine years in prison.
Fortunately, most people inhabiting Reality 2 seem ready to move toward Reality 1 — including the judge who eventually discharged me without conviction. Messages of support and donations toward my legal fees have flooded my inbox. Polls say 70 per cent of Kiwis favour medicinal cannabis legalisation. I am grateful.
However, this gratitude does not detract from my outrage. I am outraged that a few people who are unready for change hold disproportionate power, and are withholding medicine from suffering people.
In the wake of my case, numerous families have contacted me, seeking relief for loved ones suffering from crippling arthritic pain, debilitating epilepsy, Tourette's syndrome, cancer — wondering, asking, desperate. Most of these people already know that cannabis oil helps their condition, and are begging for tips on how to get it.
Our government seems to understand that the writing is finally on the wall. Now that Australia is on its way to a medical cannabis regime, New Zealand can't be a fortress forever — it's going to happen here. This is especially true in light of one path opened by my case. As my lawyer successfully argued, under the Misuse of Drugs Act, one can physically bring a controlled drug (i.e. cannabis) into New Zealand, if it's been lawfully supplied overseas to treat a medical condition.
It's a small win, but it's thrilling to force the gatekeepers of Reality 2 to formally acknowledge the medical system of Reality 1.
However, Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne, in his hints that medical cannabis will happen here, has also dropped some worrying signs about how he wants it to happen.
Most concerningly, he appears inclined to restrict medical cannabis to expensive, processed pharmaceutical-type products. First, when my case went public, Minister Dunne said that one couldn't lawfully bring medical cannabis into NZ.
After he finally backtracked and admitted it was legal, he told the Nelson Mail that patients can bring cannabis-derived medications into the country, but not "raw cannabis." Health Minister Jonathan Coleman drew the same battle line this week, saying medical cannabis can only be "an extract in a medicine under a proper clinical trial."
Both ministers are ignoring international medical practice. The cannabis plant is medicine. Raw cannabis is covered by my prescription. The raw plant is being used to treat patients across the US, Canada, Israel, and elsewhere. Inhaling through a vaporiser is a healthy alternative to smoking; the immediate relief and titratable dose make this important for many patients. Almost everywhere that medical cannabis is legal, the herb itself is legal, and in many places patients can grow their own.
Minister Dunne now says he will watch Australia's cannabis research trials over the next few years, and after that, New Zealand could allow specific pharmaceutical products approved in Australia.
But dozens of scientific trials have already shown that cannabis relieves diverse pain syndromes. In the US, children are being treated for epilepsy with cannabis oil alone. Cancer patients are finding relief from their pain and nausea. Why do we need to wait for years of trials in Australia? Do the rules of the human body work differently in the Southern Hemisphere?
Currently, individuals can apply for special Ministry of Health permission to use medical cannabis products, but the product must meet a list of arcane pharmaceutical drug criteria, such as proven success in lab animal studies. None of the affordable, effective medical cannabis products that I use in the US would meet the New Zealand Ministry of Health guidelines. I guess the experience of thousands of patients like myself doesn't count as an animal study.
The legal cannabis industry is worth billions of dollars worldwide. The state of Colorado collects over US$125 million yearly in taxes on cannabis sales. But our supposedly economic-minded government seems keen to sit this one out. Why?
In the 1930s, Reefer Madness, a propaganda film, tried to scare people away from cannabis. But it was fictional. The true cases of reefer-related madness are on display in the Beehive. I hope we can help them get over it soon — for the sake of everyone's health.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: New Zealand: No Reason To Delay Medical Cannabis
Author: Rebecca Reider
Contact: Stuff
Photo Credit:
Website: Stuff - Nelson Mail
