MCANZ is delighted at the historic achievement of a solid commitment to produce Medical Cannabis in New Zealand, and is grateful for the amendments that were introduced broadening the scope of the compassionate clause, clarifying a more therapeutic “whole plant” definition of CBD, and allowing for native cannabis strains to enter the market, giving New Zealand Industry a competitive edge over Australia.

MCANZ Does note that the real mahi has yet to start, and close attention was paid to details in the Initial speech from David Clark. Details were revealed around a consultation phase, with a mention of an advisory committee to be formed.

It is the view of MCANZ that a year has been wasted that could have been spent working on the scheme.
"We challenge the minister to get invitations for an advisory committee out before christmas to demonstrate it is truly a priority." Says MCANZ Coordinator Shane Le Brun

"The challenge now lies in the MOH and its resourcing, we need the MOH to recruit more staff to assist in forming the scheme, and ultimately administering it, we hope that with a budget surplus it should be fairly easy to get funds without resorting to the likes of industry levies." Says MCANZ Coordinator Shane Le Brun.

"Time frames are prone to slipping, especially with such large bodies of work, we hope that they can talk to other governments to learn from their experiences, and ensure that the scheme is implemented on time." Says MCANZ Shane Le Brun.

"Our hope is that with early clarity on the direction of the scheme, manufacturers can be ready for the go live date, delivering products at much more affordable prices on day 1" Says MCANZ Coordinator Shane Le Brun.

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