95bFM Recent study shows large increase in use of medicinal cannabis
22 January, 2025
Interview by Athena Li-Watts, adapted by Marlo Schorr-Kon
According to the latest edition of The New Zealand Drug Trend Survey (NZDTS), prescriptions for medicinal cannabis drastically increased last year compared to previous years.
The survey shows a large increase in those with prescriptions for medicinal cannabis, jumping from 9% in 2022 and 2023, to 37% last year, while the percentage of users who have never asked for prescriptions decreased from 85% to 60%.
Medicinal cannabis was legalised in Aotearoa in 2018 as a part of the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill, allowing those with a terminal illness to use cannabis without facing legal consequences.
Associate Professor in the College of Health at Massey University, Marta Rychert, told 95bFM’s The Wire that a reason for the increase in medicinal cannabis prescriptions is that health practitioners have become more informed on the benefits of cannabis for certain conditions.
“[There is] good evidence for the use of cannabis-based therapy in chemotherapy-induced nausea, and there is increasing evidence also for multiple sclerosis and chronic pain.”
Rychert also says cannabis may potentially have fewer side effects compared to other forms of medication, such as opioids prescribed for pain relief.
She says a deeper understanding by medical professionals of the usage of medicinal cannabis may contribute to the uptake of its usage.
“Medical cannabis has been available for access for over four years now, in fact, nearly five years. Over this time, doctors [have] become more familiar to some extent with this new therapy; so that may have some impact.”
Rychert believes other factors, such as cannabis clinics; which can prescribe medicinal cannabis for a variety of different medical conditions, a greater choice in products, and cheaper pricing may also be a contributor to the increased usage as well.
She advises people who are interested in experimenting with medicinal cannabis to source it from medical centres and pharmacies — not illegally.
“You are getting a consistent quality assured product, [however], what happens on the illegal market is that you don't know what potency of cannabis you're getting.”
Rychert says that a majority of those a part of the survey want to see a strictly regulated market, as well as cannabis decriminalised.
“[By regulating the market] you can control how much people pay for cannabis, the prices, the availability in a proposal that is a strictly regulated market.”
“This is something similar to what New Zealanders; what we voted [for] in the 2020 cannabis referendum.”
