Strong dose of regulation needed with medicinal cannabis, ESR warns

By February 19, 2019 Recent News

Stuff co.nz 18 February 2019
Family First Comment: Exactly what we warned about regarding cannabis medicine
“When you are dealing with extracts, or medicines that are made from herbal plants or herbal products, getting that consistent level of all the ingredients is very difficult. You need to be very careful in how you regulate that, and the manufacturing process in how you’re testing them. The level of risk the products posed, particularly to children and younger patients, needed to be careful balanced against access.” – ESR
In other words, not smoked!

The nation’s drug tester is warning a strong dose of regulation is required to alleviate the risks of medicinal cannabis.

Environmental Science and Research (ESR) has tested illcitly-obtained medicinal cannabis for concerned patients and parents – and its cannabis expert says the results can be alarming.

Forensic toxicology and pharmaceuticals manager Mary Jane McCarthy pointed to the case of a man who contacted ESR about a supposedly medicinal cannabis product with high levels of cannabidiol, or CBD, for his grandson’s uncontrollable epilepsy.

But the product was actually high in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive property of cannabis that causes the drug’s high.

There is no evidence that exists in clinical literature that demonstrates the long-term affects of taking a high THC product on a child,” McCarthy said.

“That was a very unregulated product, and I just have some fear that our consumers in New Zealand need to know that what they’re taking is safe.”

Medicinal cannabis is set to be legalised in this country, with regulations being drawn up by the Ministry of Health after the Government passed an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act in December 2018.
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/110627461/strong-dose-of-regulation-needed-with-medicinal-cannabis-esr-warns

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