Marijuana Media: Cannabis Party blazes NSW elections

Kia ora! Cannabis Party blazes NSW elections, Thailand’s first Cannabis Cup, and changes to NZ’s medicinal cannabis scheme. This week’s Marijuana Media show on 95bFM, with your hosts Jonny from bFM Drive and Chris Fowlie from The Hempstore, has all this and more.

Legalise Cannabis set to smoke NSW Upper House

Legalise Cannabis is confident of winning its first seat in the NSW upper house, with early counting showing it is the 5^th most popular party.

Leader Jeremy Buckingham, a former Greens MLC, said the vote was “a massive breakthrough” for the party, which already has elected representatives in WA and Victoria.

According to a report by the Australian Parliamentary Budget Office commissioned by the Greens, legalising cannabis could generate AU$28 billion in taxes and allow the government to increase benefits by AU$80 a week.

The vote shows cannabis law reform is a top issue for many voters. Given the similarities between the Anzac nations, could we expect the same here?

The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (unrelated) has shown up in a few polls this year at around the 1% mark, which could put it in parliament if we had similar election laws as these Australian states.

Phuket hosts Thailand’s first Cannabis Cup

The 1^st Phuket Cannabis Cup was held last week and Ativat Janmuangthai, a man with nimble fingers and years of practice, was crowned fastest joint rollerwith a perfect 1-gram joint in 43 seconds.

An international panel of judges, which I was disappointed to not be invited on, also deliberated over various strains.

Thailand legalised cannabis last year, but with no regulations to control use and production.

There are now over 1000 dispensaries in Phuket. Cannabis advocates recently formed the Phuket Cannabis Association to create a stronger voice for the industry.

Poonwarit Wangpatravanich, the group president, told Reuters they hope laws to regulate cannabis use will be hastened after the election and pointed to incoming canna-tourists raising the nation’s GDP.

“The government should be very, very happy!”

Medicinal cannabis is safer – and access is getting easier

The Herald reported this week 1-in-5 people are living with chronic pain. It highlighted how people suffer untreated, or are prescribed opiates and other pharmaceuticals that come with serious risks.

As an example, Radio New Zealand reported this week a cancer patient who was given a morphine overdose at Auckland Hospital suffered irreversible brain injury.

Yet cannabis can provide effective pain relief, especially in conjunction with other painkillers – and allowing those pharmaceuticals to work effectively at lower doses with greater safety margins, or let patients come off them completely.

Unlike in other countries where access to medicinal cannabis remains difficult (for example, in the UK Sir Patrick Stewart urges cannabis treatment for boy with epilepsy), here in New Zealand it is comparatively simple and straightforward.

Any doctor can prescribe, to any patient for any reason, any cannabis product approved under the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme. This includes flower (bud).

Once you have a prescription, like me, you can consume your medicine where vaping or drinking tea is allowed, and can take it through airport security (including to Australia – but declare it on arrival).

You can drive if you’re not impaired, and you can consume it at your friends place if they’re ok with that.

Being legal is also one less thing to worry about. And it’s getting cheaper.

If you need more info, pop into The Hemp Store or see our website.

Regulations governing the scheme are still on course for an update. One is to allow export of seed by licensed producers, for example to the Cook Islands or French Polynesia.

I asked the Medicinal Cannabis Agency if there is any way to do it now. They told me it can be done by transferring seeds to another entity holding a controlled drugs licence.

“While circuitous, this transfer of cannabis seeds from one licence holder to another appropriately licenced party is the only legal route that could enable the export of cannabis seeds without breaching the intent of the Medicinal Cannabis scheme.”

But they confirmed in a follow up email that this would only apply to “legally sourced” seeds, ie not illicit Kiwi genetics.

This looks set to change later this year.

In other news…

Presenter Haley Holt opens up about her alcoholic alter-ego ‘Arthur’, as Herald sports columnist lists all the greatest sportspeople who should never have to buy a drink again. Because that, apparently, is the measure of their success.

Parliament passes the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Amendment Bill which they say is to block gang members from using family to stash money and assets.

Figures released from the Ministry of Justice show seizures made by court security are overwhelmingly cannabis and weed smoking utensils. They even seized 6 bongs last year.

A bong could be thrown so fair call, but cannabis itself does not present any security risk and this seems like another example of the law getting in the way of what really matters. I hope they are not seizing any prescribed medicinal cannabis.

Coming up:

• Substance testing @ The Hemp Store, Thurs 6 April for First Thursday on Karangahape Road.
• J Day is on Saturday 6 May in Albert Park, proudly presented by The Hemp Store and NORML.

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 or hundreds of previous Marijuana Media shows at 95bFM.com (or via iTunes / RSS feed).