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Media: Hart: Let GPs prescribe medical cannabis

First published: Wairarapa Times Age 9 Feb 2017

Wairarapa Green Party candidate John Hart supports the move, but would like the process made available to general practitioners, not restricted to specialists.

“Rural areas like Wairarapa should have the same access to prescription medicines as the rest of New Zealand. Our GPs can already prescribe opiates, so they would be perfectly capable of prescribing one of the listed, regulated medicinal cannabis products if they see benefits for their patients.”

“People who are sick or dying should have access to medicinal cannabis products as easily and as cheaply as they do any other prescription drug – the announcement today doesn’t allow that to happen.”

Full Green press release is here https://www.greens.org.nz/news/press-release/medical-cannabis-changes-positive-small-step

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Earth Day – just the one?

First published: Wairarapa Midweek 20 April 2016

In case you’d missed the news, this Friday is Earth Day. Ever since the 1970’s, the world has celebrated April 22nd as a day to support environmental protection.

I’m all for raising awareness of climate change and the steps we need to take to mitigate it, but a once-a-year celebration feels a bit like the crash diet we start every New Year, just as the Christmas ham runs out. We start off with the best of intentions, but drop back into old habits a few days later.

As far as Earth Day events go, 2016 has one of the big ones. The landmark Paris agreement on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is due to be signed on the 22nd by the United States, China and 120-odd other countries. Continue reading “Earth Day – just the one?”