Media Release
From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)Key points
New Zealand has a clear frame work which defines the standards required for something to be considered a medicine, yet appears on the cusp on creating a whole new class of “medicine” to accommodate medicinal cannabis. Our argument is:
- Cannabis is not a single substance, but a mixture of substances whose exact composition varies between products.
- Regulatory approval of medicines requires exact composition to be known and be able to be replicated for batch to batch conformity. It requires detailed stability data and to ensure that products are free from contaminants. Clinical efficacy must be proven, and adverse effects monitored. If we are going to ask doctors to prescribe cannabis as a medicine, why would cannabis products not be required to meet existing standards?
Summary
If we are going to ask doctors to prescribe medicinal cannabis, shouldn’t it meet the same safety and efficacy standards as other medicines? This article asks why we are inventing a whole new definition of a medicine just for cannabis.