Dear Editor, A letter written to the Cook Islands News on 30-10-23, erringly declared it was against the law to import any form of marijuana product into the nation, including non-psychoactive CBD products.

Yet once again I will clear up this government propaganda with the facts.

All illicit drugs or controlled drugs in the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act 2004, namely opioids and marijuana, are managed by the Ministry of Health in the Drugs Act.

And under the Ministry of Health Act 2013 these above-mentioned illicit drugs become legal to possess with a prescription.

The Health Act unambiguously states in Regulation,23,7 – “Nothing in this regulation prevents the importation by any person of a medicine (opioids and marijuana) if that importation is for personal use which is evidenced by a letter or certificate of that person’s medical practitioner outside the Cook Islands”.

And to this date, under the directive of the Minister responsible for Customs, Prime Minister Mark Brown, this above stated Health Regulation is not being lawfully upheld, thereby interfering with the sanctity of a doctor-patient relationship.

Furthermore, in reference to the letter writer, the Cook Islands Government was warned by Sarah Helm, the New Zealand Drug Foundation executive director, over a year ago before any Medicinal Cannabis Referendum Committee was established in the Cook Islands that, “In New Zealand both the industry and patients have struggled with our medicinal cannabis regulations because they are overly restrictive”.

But the Government continues to follow New Zealand, a relatively new kid on the block in the legalisation of medicinal cannabis instead of following the expertise of a host of western nations who long ago legalised medicinal cannabis.

A range of CBD products available without a prescription are easily accessed in the US, Canada and European Union nations like Germany, Ireland, United Kingdom and Switzerland, while the rookie nations of NZ and Australia are detached from this list but are now making up for lost time by making CBD products readily available without a prescription in the very near future.

Lastly, the Government intends in its latest claim to have legislative amendments available for the December sitting of Parliament to clarify the issues around the importation of medicinal cannabis.

The legal framework was already in place with our existing laws to import medicinal cannabis and what the people want to see at the December sitting of Parliament is the beginning of legislative action of a medical marijuana board that promulgates the interaction of the rules for marijuana growers, both individually and commercially, processors, provisioning centres, secure transport of marijuana, safety compliance facilities and to provide for taxes, fees and assessments.

Steve Boggs

Editor: Cook Islands News has approached the Prime Minister’s Office and the chair of the Cannabis Referendum Committee for a reply.