NELSON GPS CAUTIOUS ABOUT CANNABIS CALL

Nelson GPs are cautious about the possibility of being allowed to
prescribe cannabis, saying they'll need more concrete evidence of its
benefits.

A parliamentary committee on Friday recommended that the Government
look at allowing doctors to prescribe cannabis for medicinal purposes.

The committee published its report on Friday after a three-year
inquiry. It said the current prohibition regime was not working, and
recommended diversion instead of a criminal conviction for first offences.

It said in its report that cannabis had been shown to be effective in
providing relief for some medical disorders, and the Government should
consider allowing clinically tested cannabis products to be prescribed.

Nelson GPs' spokesman Graham Loveridge said there was little hard data
available on cannabis's medical benefits and side effects.

"Most GPs will have anecdotal evidence from patients who say they have
been helped by cannabis, but that's different from a properly
conducted clinical trial," he said.

He said GPs would also want to see reliable and safe prescription
methods developed before they prescribed the drug to patients.

"There's a problem with smoking cannabis because it causes damage to
the lungs and the dosage is highly variable," he said.

However, cannabis could be administered in other forms, such as
capsules or nose sprays, which might provide more constant dosages, he
said.

Nelson-based MPs generally supported the health select committee's
recommendations, released after a three-year investigation.

West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor said he agreed with the use of
cannabis for medicinal purposes, as long as strict protocols and
guidelines were laid down.

The Labour MP sat on the previous health select committee which heard
submissions on the issue.

"I think there's reasonably strong evidence that for some people
marijuana does work as a pain reliever and an anti-nausea drug," he
said.

Green list MP Mike Ward agreed, saying the committee's recommendation
"seemed like good sense".

He said he had read quite a bit on cannabis use in a medicinal
context, and it appeared there were far fewer side effects with
cannabis than with some modern, conventional medicines.

Its use as a treatment for things such as nausea went back a long way,
he said.

National's Nelson MP Nick Smith could not be reached for
comment.

Tasman police district commander Superintendent Grant O'Fee said the
police would wait to see whether law changes were proposed, before
forming a stance on the issue.

"Our job is to enforce the law. If the law changes then we'll have
input into that at a national level," he said.

He said police in the Nelson region currently tended to target
cannabis growers and dealers, rather than cannabis users.

"If we come across users, we take each case on its merits," he
said.