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Letter: Medicinal cannabis plan for Ministry of Health

Thursday 11 May 2023 | Written by Supplied | Published in Letters to the Editor, Opinion

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Letter: Medicinal cannabis plan  for Ministry of Health

The following is a proposal to allow for the individual cultivation of medicinal cannabis by patients who qualify under a clinical trial supervised by the Ministry of Health.

Patients meet with their doctor to discuss whether they meet one or more of the 54 qualifying debilitating conditions to treat their symptoms with cannabis. (The 54 qualifying debilitating conditions are a compilation from all of the medicinal cannabis plans of the appropriate nations that Te Marae Ora is allowed to incorporate in a clinical trial.)

Doctors are given the list of the 54 qualifying debilitating conditions beforehand and patients will be able to see this list through different media outlets.

Your doctor may issue a medical document if they determine you should use cannabis to treat your ailments and at this time you will be given a recommended clinical dosage prescription for cannabis. (The recommended clinical dosage for cannabis will be given to doctors for both a tea preparation and inhalation of cannabis. These recommended clinical doses of cannabis are based on the theory of start low and go slow for both experienced and inexperienced medicinal cannabis patients and tips on safety when using medicinal cannabis products will be provided to doctors in order for them to discuss with their patients)

Once you are qualified to use medicinal cannabis by your doctor you will need to fill out a standardised form indicating if you will be cultivating ‘x’ amount of cannabis plants or you will be having a designated grower do it for you.

This form that allows for the individual or designated cultivation of cannabis is very detailed in its content and I’m not going to go through it all because it will take up too much space. Nonetheless I have all the required information that is needed to fill out this form to satisfy the MOH.

The Government will need to procure cannabis seeds from a seed bank in either New Zealand, Australia or Hawaii because this is the easiest way since we have flights coming in from these nations

These seeds indica, sativa and hybrids all treat different ailments and they cost between $5 and $20 each and patients would need to purchase them from the Government.

As far as the seeds treating different ailments it is not complicated but I don’t want to go into it now because again it will take up too much space.

If a patient who doesn’t follow all of the rules and regulations for individual and designating cultivation under this clinical trial and is caught abusing this trial, either through supplying or selling cannabis to someone else or whatever other offense, then they could still be prosecuted under our dark ages Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act 2004.

We need to start this process to get relief for all of those patients suffering out there and if anyone else has a better plan let us all know but, in any event, let’s get moving.

Sincerely,

Steve Boggs