An independent study of medicinal cannabis users in New Zealand will begin next month.
The study comes ahead of the government’s plans to introduce a new licenced medicinal cannabis scheme to broaden access
to cannabis products for a wider range of patients – not only the terminally ill – by the end of this year1.
Massey University’s Dr Marta Rychert, an expert in drug policy and public health law research, has received an Emerging
Researcher First Grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) to explore the types of medicinal cannabis
users in New Zealand and how they ¬– and health professionals – are engaging with the new medicinal cannabis scheme.
Dr Rychert says there is currently little research on medicinal cannabis users in New Zealand, with the only data we
have coming from a general health survey of the New Zealand population from 2012/2013.
“This snapshot found that 41 percent of New Zealanders who used cannabis in the past 12 months said they used it for
medicinal reasons. This amounts to about 175,000 people or some five percent of New Zealanders aged 15 and over,” says
Dr Rychert.
“New Zealanders have been using cannabis – both legally and illegally – for medicinal purposes for many decades, but we
know little about where they get their supply from, how they use it and for what medical conditions, what advice they
have received from health professionals, and how the new scheme will affect their use.”
Dr Rychert’s research aims to help fill these large gaps in our understanding and critically analyse the new medicinal
cannabis scheme during the first three years following its introduction. This will include looking at issues of
affordability and access to medicinal cannabis under the new scheme and providing information to help with developing
protocols and resources for both patients and health professionals.
HRC chief executive Professor Kath McPherson says it is essential to study the impacts of the new medicinal cannabis
scheme to ensure it is working as intended, providing a regulated, safe scheme that responds to medicinal cannabis
users’ needs but with important safeguards.
“Marta is in a great position to lead this research as she has a range of experience analysing drug policy reforms both
in New Zealand and Europe, including with the European Union Drugs Agency, and analysing the performance of New
Zealand’s law that established a regulated legal market for new psychoactive substances or ‘legal highs’.”
Dr Rychert says the planned policy change in New Zealand fits within a wider international trend towards establishing
medicinal cannabis schemes, with Canada, Germany, Israel, Netherlands and more than half of the states in the US having
approved the use of cannabis for medical purposes.
However, the overseas experiences with medicinal cannabis laws have not been without their problems – something she
hopes New Zealand can learn from.
“There have been a number of issues overseas with medicinal cannabis schemes, including poor affordability, a lack of
understanding about new regulations, a continued black-market supply, and limited engagement from health professionals
who remain sceptical about the use of medicinal cannabis for certain conditions – and rightly so,” she says.
“New Zealand is a really interesting case as we are embarking on both medicinal cannabis and recreational cannabis law
reform at the same time. If recreational cannabis law reform goes ahead, it could have huge implications on this
medicinal cannabis scheme, including how likely it is that medicinal cannabis users engage with the prescribed cannabis
channel.”
Dr Rychert’s study is one of 15 HRC Emerging Researcher First Grants worth a combined total of nearly $3.7 million
announced today. These grants help the country’s brightest and best new talent establish independent health research
careers in New Zealand.
See below for the full list of recipients, and to read lay summaries of the research projects go to www.hrc.govt.nz/fundingopportunities/recipients and filter for ‘Researcher initiated proposals’, ‘Emerging Researcher First Grants’ and ‘2019’.
1 The Ministry of Health is currently leading work to develop a scheme that will enable domestic commercial cultivation
and manufacture of medicinal cannabis. The scheme has three main elements: (1) a licensing regime (2) introduction of
standards for the quality of medicinal cannabis products and all stages of production, and (3) establishment of a
medicinal cannabis agency.
2019 Emerging Researcher First Grants – full list
Dr Julie Bennett, University of Otago, Wellington
Characteristics of S. pyogenes isolated prior to rheumatic fever diagnosis
36 months, $245,000
Dr Kathryn Bradbury, The University of Auckland
Diet and circulating lipids in relation to cardiovascular disease in New Zealand
36 months, $247,000
Dr Janice Chew-Harris, University of Otago, Christchurch
A suPAR prognostic indicator of cardiovascular risk and outcomes
36 months, $243,758
Dr Julie Choisne, The University of Auckland
Prediction of the form-function musculoskeletal system in paediatric population
36 months, $249,999
Dr Rosie Dobson, The University of Auckland
Supporting mothers and babies in Lakes District
36 months, $249,958
Dr Niamh Donnellan, The University of Auckland
Novel approach to measuring the food and activity environments for child health
18 months, $225,137
Dr Fiona Graham, University of Otago, Wellington
Coaching caregivers of children with developmental disability: A cluster RCT
36 months, $233,618
Dr Joanna Hicks, University of Waikato
Cysteine biosynthesis and infection, gonorrhoea’s weak link?
36 months, $249,959
Dr Prasath Jayakaran, University of Otago, Dunedin
Sensory organisation for balance control in children with strabismus
36 months, $244,828
Dr Gabriella Lindberg, University of Otago, Christchurch
Oxygen control in 3D-bioprinted osteochondral constructs
36 months, $249,759
Dr Marta Rychert, Massey University, Auckland
Exploring medicinal cannabis use in New Zealand in a time of policy change
36 months, $246,885
Dr Nada Signal, AUT University
Measuring perceived task difficulty during rehabilitation
36 months, $227,452
Dr Trudy Sullivan, University of Otago, Dunedin
Valuing health-related quality of life in New Zealand
36 months, $247,406
Dr Braden Te Ao, The University of Auckland
Are concussion services for mild traumatic brain injury cost effective?
36 months, $246,647
Dr Ayesha Verrall, University of Otago, Wellington
An epigenetic marker of BCG protection from M. tuberculosis
36 months, $250,000