WELLINGTON: New Zealand Customs Service has admitted an exemption in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 allows medical cannabis to be imported legally, despite a misinformation campaign by Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne. Dunne blurred the boundaries between the legislature and judiciary, following the Police Vs Reider court case, by making numerous inaccurate statements about Section 8(2)(l)(iii) of the act.
Dunne initially claimed that the exemption didn’t even exist. He had to back down and admit he was wrong when challenged by law professor Andrew Geddis. Dunne then claimed that patients would not be allowed to take cannabis out of the United States. In reality the US authorities only prevent cannabis coming into the country.
Dunne claimed that very few patients would use the exemption because of the limit on one month’s supply. In reality thousands of foreigners and New Zealand travellers are likely to make use of the exemption each year.
Dunne claimed that the exemption would not apply to raw cannabis and anyone who imported it could face arrest. In reality nothing in the law prevents raw cannabis from being lawfully obtained overseas and brought into New Zealand to treat a medical condition.
Despite initially taking an illegal position that all cannabis would be confiscated, Customs have now had to back down and admit on TV3’s Story programme that travellers can bring cannabis into New Zealand under the exemption, if it is lawfully supplied overseas for treating a medical condition and is no more than one month’s supply. Even Dunne avoided discussing the issue directly on Story, once the exemption had been accepted by Customs.
