Talk back contributors (and some hosts) would have us believe New Zealand is going to pot.
This week’s speaker Julie Curphy, Chief Commercial Officer for Helius, a local company producing medicinal cannabis products, would like to think this is the case!
In a very detailed talk, Julie gave the larger than usual gathering of Rotarians and friends all you might ever need to know about the situation in New Zealand of this health product, its cultivation, manufacturing process, marketing and distribution and effectiveness as a medicine.
All this was placed in a world-wide context showing that NZ is in the second tier of countries regarding ease of access. Unlike Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand and some western states in USA we do not make medicinal cannabis available without a prescription BUT any Kiwi can gain access through their G.P. if deemed a suitable recipient. However it costs!.
The ‘all made in New Zealand’ product will cost about $150 per month compared with the same product from Canada at $400. They can be in the form of oils, tinctures, oral solutions, sprays etc. but not as capsules, suppositories, edibles (gummies) or skin patches.
Promotors of medicinal cannabis lay claim to its efficacy especially in treatment of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chemo-induced nausea and vomiting and there is strong evidence to show its positive effects on chronic pain, inflammation, addiction, anxiety, arthritis, autism, sleep disorders and ADHD. At the age of the listeners, doesn’t leave much does it?
Julie made it very clear that her company was at the cutting edge of good manufacturing practice, being the first NZ company to receive certification to this effect. Factory conditions are meticulously clean as an essential means of keeping the 800 or so grown hydroponically plants in cultivation disease free.
In all, a fascinating glimpse into a possible future use of a natural product alleviating unnatural conditions in the human body.
Thank you Julie.