Should medical cannabis be allowed to be grown in New Zealand? We look at both sides of the fence.

With its profile rising and as more people look to alternative treatments for health problems, the horticulture industry sees medical cannabis cultivation as a sustainable business opportunity in New Zealand.  

Currently, the cultivation of cannabis for any reason is illegal in New Zealand. Cannabis is classified as a class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 and cultivation is a criminal offence carrying with it a liability for imprisonment for up to eight years.  

The New Zealand Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 (PSA 2013) was never world leading drug reform, as frequently claimed by drug reformers at the time and re-asserted in an article by one of the Act’s key flag bearers.

It was however, ground breaking drug legislation, that succeeded in gaining unanimous support across New Zealand Parliament (apart from one independent MP), because this new drug law expanded prohibition to include every new psychoactive substance (NPS) not currently incorporated within the Misuse of Drugs Act.

I have just watched the closing plenary session of the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem here in New York. Presidents and Prime Ministers will now move on to the climate change summit that opens tomorrow, and the thousands of government and NGO delegates who have filled the UN building in Manhattan over the last 3 days will catch their flights back to all corners of the globe. So was it worth it – three years of preparation, tens of millions of dollars of travel and meeting costs, and countless hours of debate and negotiation. Is the international community any better placed to reduce the health, social and economic problems associated with illicit drug markets?

New Zealand should follow NSW and allow terminally ill people to use cannabis without the threat of being charged, the NZ Drug Foundation says.

NZ Drug Foundation principal policy advisor Andrew Zielinski said the government should consider adopting a scheme similar to that of New South Wales, where patients could access cannabis without fear of prosecution.

"People register as having a terminal disease ... than them or their caregiver won't be prosecuted by the New South Wales police for using whatever cannabis that they can source."

Mr Zielinski said the adverse effects of the drug were less of an issue with people who were terminally ill.

The woman at the forefront of a petition fighting for the legalisation of medical cannabis in New Zealand says positive words about the petition are spreading. 

Rose Renton, mother of Alex, 19 who passed away last year launched the Rose Renton Medicinal Cannabis Petition 2016 at the start of the month.

Ms Renton aims to collect 500,000 signatures to present to parliament by the July 1, marking a year since her son passed away.

Although she hasn't started counting the signatures yet, she said "the feedback is incredible and people on the street are signing up without a second thought".

International progress abounds from beyond the borders! Costa Rica already decriminalized cannabis, but now it's considering a major medical marijuana program, New Zealand’s Labour Party is trying to solve a problem like medical cannabis access, and the United Kingdom found that the number of cannabis arrests have been cut nearly in half in the last five years.

Stateside, Alaska’s retail licenses are being held up by the Legislature, Arizona’s recreational campaign calls out the hypocrisy of a critic, New Hampshire could decriminalize cannabis possession (again), and Vermont is a hop, skip and one House vote away from legalizing recreational cannabis. This year will be historical for cannabis – are you paying attention?

Helen Kelly didn't seek re-election for Council of Trade Unions president after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer last year.

Former union boss Helen Kelly has spoken out about her "political motives" for applying for medicinal cannabis.

Kelly's oncologist, Dr Anthony Falkov, who applied and later withdrew an application to the Ministry of Health for a non-pharmaceutical grade cannabis product, told the ministry he believed Kelly was making a "political point in trying to seek medicinal cannabis".

Kelly stands by that and says the comment isn't a criticism of her as she discussed her motives with Falkov.

"He's a very good person and it was unfortunate he got dragged into it."

A patient suffering from severe Tourette's Syndrome has been given the OK to use a medicinal cannabis product.

Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne has green-lighted the use of Aceso Calm Spray, after recommendations from health officials.

It's the third application for a cannabis based medicine to be used.

Mr Dunne said he's approved it once before.

The other application was withdrawn before a decision was made.

"The fact that the two cases that have come to my desk in the last year have both been approved suggest that if people complete the application get the information together, know what they're talking about, the chances are they will get a positive response." said Mr Dunne.

ANALYSIS: A quick check of political attitudes indicates Parliament is unlikely to change the laws on recreational cannabis use any time soon.

This is despite a wave of international reports saying that trying to suppress the drug trade by force does not work.

The argument was kicked off by the former presidents of five countries calling for a halt to the war on drugs.

They included the former leader of Mexico, a country which has been torn apart by drug gangs. The former leaders said suppressing the drug trade was handing big money over to organised crime.

The research company, UMR, polled 1750 people between January and February.

Of those polled, 72 percent said they would support a medical marijuana regime, with 13 percent opposed and 15 percent not sure.

Support was spread evenly across all demographics, including age, gender, and even political party support, with only a slight dip to 65 percent among National voters.

UMR executive director Stephen Mills said it was unusual for a poll question to deliver such a decisive result.

"I would guess that people would just see it as an utter no-brainer, that if people were in considerable pain or worse and marijuana can provide some relief then they should be allowed to use it. I think it's just a straight, sympathetic human response to the situation."