Further Extension of Medicinal Cannabis Scheme transitional arrangements

The Medical Cannabis Agency has announced a further 6 month extension of the Medical Cannabis Scheme transitional arrangements.

The Medicinal Cannabis Scheme (MCS) came into effect on April 1st, 2020 and promised a new era for cannabis as a medicine in New Zealand. The primary objective of the MCS is to increase access to quality medical cannabis products for Kiwi patients.

For some time now GPs have been able to prescribe CBD products but the new rules meant Doctors can also prescribe products that contain THC. So far though the changes haven’t had the full impact as intended. This is because GPs can freely prescribe only products that are approved medicines (there is only one, Sativex) or those that have been assessed as meeting the minimum quality standard by the Medical Cannabis Agency.

Companies were expected to submit their products for assessment over the last 12 months but this has proved challenging. After an initial 6 month extension the Regulations provided for a transitional period to enable medicinal cannabis products that had already been imported into New Zealand as at 1 April 2020, to continue to be supplied without a product assessment until 31st March 2021. 

This has now been extended for a further 6 months in order to not interrupt supply of products for patients in the short term.

The Government remains committed to continuing patient access to prescribed medicinal cannabis products and has agreed to further extend the transitional period to 30 September 2021.

This means that existing medicinal cannabis products and ingredients do not need to meet the quality standard until October 1st, 2021.

mcinfo.com has updated its website to accommodate the latest regulatory changes for both patients and healthcare professionals.