4 hours Ago By John Weekes
It’s been five years since medicinal cannabis was legalised in New Zealand but Kiwi companies are struggling to get off the ground as GPs remain reluctant to prescribe the drug. John Weekes investigates what it will take to get the budding industry to take off. Ten years ago, nurse Jacinta Newport was battling for her daughter to get a Sativex prescription.
The family had tried numerous treatments and her daughter, diagnosed with juvenile arthritis 11 years earlier, often suffered side effects from opioid medicines. It was a strange time, with reports of New Zealanders moving to Colorado to get medicines banned here – and others so worried about getting burgled they would only talk about their medicinal products anonymously. And it was a desperate time for some, with tragic cases highlighting what some people did for their suffering loved ones.
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