Changes to regulations will improve access to cannabidiol

Scoop 7 August 2017
Family First Comment: A positive step (in contrast to the free-for-all proposed by the Greens and the Drug Foundation)
“…an important step in New Zealand’s continued implementation of a compassionate, innovative and proportionate drug policy… In practical terms, the changes mean that as CBD products become available, doctors will be able to prescribe them to their patients in a similar way to any other prescription medicine. The changes reaffirm this Government’s commitment to an evidence based approach to cannabis-based products for medicinal purposes and future-proof access to such products…
Changes to regulations will improve access to cannabidiol (CBD) products
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne has today welcomed the removal of a range of controls on cannabidiol (CBD), calling the changes an important step in New Zealand’s continued implementation of a compassionate, innovative and proportionate drug policy.
The changes, to come into effect in early September will see CBD, a non-psychoactive component of cannabis, no longer subject to a range of conditions that other controlled drugs are required to adhere to.
“The Regulations’ appearance today at Executive Council, is the culmination of a process which I began early this year after receiving independent advice from the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs”, says Mr Dunne.
“Following this advice, in May I took a paper to Cabinet arguing that the existing restrictions on CBD were no longer appropriate or justifiable.“
Today’s changes allow for a presence in CBD products of up to 2 percent of other cannabinoids usually found in cannabis, meaning trace amounts of THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, will not be a barrier for people seeking to access CBD products.
Currently there is a limited range of CBD products made to a standard where prescribers can be sure the products contains what is claimed – and strict import and export restrictions on products sourced from other countries, which will continue to impact the supply of CBD products in New Zealand.
READ MORE: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1708/S00137/changes-to-regulations-will-improve-access-to-cannabidiol.htm