Marijuana Media: With a new PM, is cannabis back on the agenda?

Rightly or wrongly, Jacinda Ardern copped a lot of flak after the loss of the cannabis referendum.

Ardern backed medical cannabis and putting legalisation to a vote, and I think her administration did more for cannabis reform and social justice than any government before it.

Yet the former PM did not recommend a Yes vote while she was “soaring in the polls”, and waited until after the referendum had lost to reveal she had voted Yes.

Since then, quite a few people have told me this could have brought enough wavering votes over to Yes, which was narrowly defeated by 67,662 votes out of 2.9 million votes cast. Chlöe Swarbrick said Jacinda Ardern could have made a “massive difference”.

Those who did vote Yes included wide swathes of Labour and progressive voters and a huge chuck of swing and centre voters, who may still be feeling disappointed with the lost opportunity. I hear it pretty much every day at The Hempstore.

The new Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, has indicated unpopular polices will be jettisoned and a fresh approach taken to the government’s work programme. I’m hoping we may see some movement on cannabis – or at least, more chance of it happening now.

Certainly, “Chippy” was more upfront before the referendum than merely winking about no longer being a Mormon. Hipkins told Stuff he had liked smoking cannabis at university – “I didn’t not enjoy it”. He was one of the Labour MPs who voted for Chlöe’s medicinal cannabis bill, he was upfront about voting Yes, and he urged people to vote Yes.

If Chris Hipkins really wants to differentiate his administration in the eyes of voters, we might hope to see:

• More significant changes to the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme, so it works for patients and providers;
• Increased support for licensed substance checking, including a mail-in service and for cannabis;
• Clarity over police discretion for cannabis, so police don’t arrest anyone for use, possession or self-provision;
• Going into the election with a policy of decriminalisation of adult use.

As for Ardern’s next steps, our local media are picking a tech role but Reuters said “her vote for legalising cannabis could put her on the radar of [cannabis] companies hoping to take advantage of loosening rules across Asia.” Now, that would be a boost to our local cannabis industry!

Re:news asked “Why to New Zealanders love spots so much?”

The story was based on the Dunedin Study which tracks 1037 people born in Dunedin 50 years ago. It had found most cannabis users smoked joints (61%) and/or a pipe or bong (42%) but 9% said they used spots – compared to only 1.3% in the UK. Two reported ingesting cannabis and one used a vape.

Russell Brown said the relative popularity of spots is because prohibition pushed up the price and pushed down the quality. It also appeals to Kiwi’s DIY nature. “We’re incredibly ingenious people when it comes to getting high.”

This story got huge feedback on bfm’s text machine, with theories including parties starting in the kitchen, people taking pride in driving spots and enjoying the generosity of the occasion, and the ability to make one tinnie get ten people high. Spotting can be quite tasty and more like vaporising than smoking, if done with cooler knives (my advice: “red hot is too hot”).

Changes to the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme

Russell Brown’s article about the changes, Nipped in the bud in The Listener, is now on the Herald site (although paywalled). I worked on submissions this week. With only 2% of patients accessing legal cannabis each month, I’m pushing for more significant changes:

• Herbal/non-GMP options to lower costs and unlock the industry;
• Pharmacy compounding, like with other meds, would also reduce prices;
• Better access to vaporisers, so consumers can stay safe;
• Food-grade hemp wellness and over-the-counter CBD like in Europe, Canada and the US.

We can be optimistic. In Australia, new patient data shows making changes to their scheme increased access to legal medicinal cannabis from 2% to 37% of patients, in only two years (2018-2020).

The number one reason for prescribing cannabis products in both Australia and New Zealand is insomnia. A new double blind placebo controlled clinical trialfrom Australia has shown a cannabis extract (containing 10 mg/ml THC and 15 mg/ml CBD over 2 weeks) was effective for treating insomnia.

More than 800,000 Australians had accessed legal products as of September 2022, although many remained so-called dual users who used illicit cannabis in addition to their prescribed medi-weed.

The main barrier for going legal was cost, with patients spending around 20% more for their legal bud, which of course costs 100% more than home grown.

Cost of living crisis? Allow home grown and put money back in people’s pockets!

Coming up

Next Thursday 2^nd February is First Thursday, all along Karangahape Road. Free, legal and confidential substance testing instore at The Hempstore, from 3-7pm, to test your weed or mystery crystals. This is a licensed service provided by the NZ Drug Foundation.

Marijuana Media airs every Thursday at 4:20pm on 95bFM, with your hosts bFM Drive’s Jonny and Chris Fowlie from The Hempstore. Stream or download the pot-cast for this show here or hundreds of previous Marijuana Media shows at 95bFM.com (or via iTunes / RSS feed).