Increased Medical Cannabis access for New Zealanders

The Medicinal Cannabis Scheme regulations were passed by Cabinet yesterday and will come into force on April 1st, 2020. The regulations mostly concern the enabling for the first time licensed New Zealand companies to grow cannabis to create medical cannabis products thus creating a New Zealand medical cannabis industry.

The scheme will ensure that all products, both locally produced and imported, meet a minimum quality standard but won’t review products for effectiveness or safety. The most important change is in which products can be prescribed.

The biggest change for patients and prescribers will be the ability for the first time of GPs to be able to prescribe products containing THC without the need for a specialist endorsement or Ministry of Health approval.

The first New Zealand grown products will likely become available later next year. Imported products have been available for some time and will continue as long as they meet the new regulations by October 2020.