Medicinal cannabis advocates in Nelson are among those wanting international input after a "disappointing" review of guidelines for the drug. A Government review of the guidelines released last month said five medical professionals who had made at least one application to prescribe approved medicinal cannabis product Sativex unanimously supported the current rules, suggesting only minor changes. Requirements that all other treatment options should be exhausted to gain approval for Sativex and to be hospitalised if taking unapproved, cannabis-based medicine were removed but several advocates said the review didn't go far enough. [continues 459 words]
Nelsonians wanting a medicinal cannabis prescription are struggling to gain approval because of the lack of appropriate pain specialists in the region. Medicinal Cannabis Awareness New Zealand trustee Shane Le Brun said no Nelson doctor has prescribed medicinal cannabis spray Sativex as yet, despite a number of chronic pain sufferers and their families clamouring for access. The greatest barrier was the lack of a pain clinic in the Nelson region, he said. "No one even has a show of getting it in Nelson at the moment. It's such a rigmarole patients are a bit hesitant to go shopping [around] for it. [continues 376 words]
