Dear Editor,

Listen to this, while we’re waiting on the Government to introduce a medical marijuana plan, we can now import our own personally prescribed medical marijuana by mail from New Zealand. Certain criteria must be met in order to do this, namely, your first step is to discuss medicinal cannabis with your doctor over the phone in New Zealand – if you think you have a condition that qualifies for medical marijuana use, and your doctor agrees medicinal cannabis will help you. But before I get into all of that allow me to tell you how this can legally be brought about.

In the Ministry of Health (Pharmacy and Therapeutic Products) Regulations 2013, Part 5, Controls on dealings with Therapeutic products, number seven, nothing in this regulation prevents the importation by any person of a medicine if that importation is for personal therapeutic use which is evidenced by a letter or certificate of that person’s medical practitioner registered outside the Cook Islands, or is for the purpose of a clinical trial authorised by the Ministry.

This is the most absolute section in the Regulations because it states, and I repeat, nothing in this regulation prevents the importation by any person of a medicine. Nothing. And of course, prescribed personal use of medical marijuana is covered in this Regulation.

There are a number of cannabis clinics in NZ you can contact to discuss medical marijuana with a doctor. Just to name one – Cannabis Clinic, 22 Tennyson avenue, Takapuna, Auckland – contact them online to book an appointment.

Legally you don’t need anyone in the Government to freely exercise your civil rights as long as you meet all the requirements for personally prescribed imported medicine

But I’m compelled to caution everyone that it would be better to contact the Minister of Health Rose Brown and get her written permission because otherwise I have no doubt, somewhere, someone down the line in the Government will try to infringe on your civil rights and try to put a stop to it.

Although there are laws and processes that everyone in this country must follow, the Government is riddled with authoritarian figures from the Cabinet, Heads of Ministries, Crown Law and the Police. And some of these very people who are supposed to be helping our society are violating our rights.

I hope this letter is informative and helpful to those of you who are seeking some relief from your physical and mental anguish through the beneficial products that medicinal cannabis can provide.

Sincerely,

Steve Boggs

Editor’s note – According to Cook Islands Secretary of Health Bob Williams “there is one medicinal cannabis medication approved by Medsafe New Zealand that Te Marae Ora can import for approved patients in the Cook Islands which would not require any legislative or regulation change”.