Although medical cannabis was legalized in NZ back in 2018, there has not been a retail rollout of medical cannabis products in the country since.
The government has maintained tight regulation as to how medical cannabis can get to those who need or want to use it for various medical conditions.
Needless to say, this is in some way prohibitive and subversive to the spirit of the legalization. But now, finally, medical licenses are set to be availed starting April 1, 2020.
This accidentally coincides with the same time when Australia will be unveiling its first medicinal cannabis resin and liquid products.
Medical cannabis to hit the streets
Once medical cannabis licenses hit the streets, investors will now be able to legally stock up on medical cannabis products and start selling to the masses.
From here on the forces of commerce and societal factors will determine just how vibrant the medical cannabis industry in New Zealand will become.
Will it have a great start or will it have a false start such as was the case in Canada in 2019. Time only will tell.
Revised policies will ease flow of medical cannabis
But, the government is coming around and easing restrictions and policies medical cannabis.
The government claims that it does want to allow those who can benefit from cannabis get the products they need, and when they need them.
One way the NZ government is facilitating this is by allowing for terminally ill patients to have access to cannabis products.
Another key policy that the government has streamlined is the bureaucracy involved in approving medical marijuana use.
Previously, patients’ applications for use of medical marijuana had to go through the ministry of health. However, thanks in part by lobbying from general practitioners, GPs will now be allowed to decide if patients should qualify for medical cannabis or not; and both the ministry of health and GPs prefer it this way.
New regulations for commercial medical cannabis rollout
With almost two dozen companies already growing and researching cannabis for medical use, and about ten times that number growing and researching industrial hemp, it is clear to see that NZ’s medical cannabis industry is finally taking shape.
Soon, medical cannabis will be readily available both locally and internationally. And the ministry of health has created a set of regulations to help with this process.
The regulations are in no way prohibitive. They simply seek to regulate the market and protect the users. These regulations include mandating testing of medicinal cannabis to ensure it has the right amounts of compounds, disallowing smoke-able medicinal marijuana products, and licensing the growing and manufacture of medicinal cannabis products.
A national referendum on recreational cannabis
On the other hand, New Zealand is also on the brink of holding a national referendum where citizens will be asked to choose whether to legalize recreational cannabis or not to.
This is slated to happen later this year when the country holds its general election to choose a new government.
The referendum question will be posed during the general election, alongside another referendum question on euthanasia.
Tough debate and misinformation prevail
There is a lot of debate going on right now about the question of legalizing recreational marijuana in the country.
Conservative groups such as churches and some political and economic quarters are against it, while other parties are for it.
There has also been talk of lots of misinformation being floated about.
The ministry of Health has even planned to set up an office to help with ensuring that misinformation does not sabotage the referendum question.
On the political front, legislators are against the debate being taken straight to the people.
They think that they should have been entrusted with the representative obligation to speak on behalf of their constituents.
Other groups, including minority politicians who pushed for the referendum question, believe that the people should be given the chance to directly make their opinions known on such a polarizing and radical topic.
A referendum win for cannabis is likely
All in all, considering the reception of medical cannabis in the country, it is expected that the majority will vote for legalization. And if that happens then the incoming government will have to prepare and pass laws governing the growth, sale, and use of recreational cannabis in the country.
With the background of substantial political hesitation, it is still unclear how friendly the policies made next year in regards to recreational cannabis will be.
We can only hope that the voice of the people will be heard and the proper framework created as quickly as possible.
If all goes well, NZ will stand to be another potential large supplier of medical and recreational cannabis in the coming years. But for now we wait until November.