The second reading of a bill is when it returns to the House after six months or more of scrutiny by a Select Committee. Bills often return from that experience changed, sometimes substantially so.
For example the country of origin food labeling bill that is about to become law was pretty much entirely rewritten while at committee. One returning prodigal bill this week was the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill and it also has changes proposed, but even more were promised by the Government for the next stage - the Committee Stage.
Dr David Clark, the Minister of Health addressing media Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
Dr David Clark, the Minister of Health outlined some of the proposed changes in his kick off to the second reading debate, including this one:
"The Government proposes replacing the term "terminal illness" in the exception and statutory defence provisions with the term 'palliation'.... I expect this change to increase the number of people covered by the exception and statutory defence provisions. Approximately 25,000 New Zealanders could benefit from palliative care. I expect this group of patients would be covered by the definition of palliation."
But one requested alteration from public submissions has not happened, as Dr Clark outlined.
"Submitters recommended that the statutory defence be extended to caregivers, friends, and whānau who sought cannabis for the terminally ill. They considered that the terminally ill are likely to rely on caregivers, whānau, and friends to source elicit cannabis for them. Some submitters also recommended that people who grow cannabis to supply the terminally ill have a statutory defence. The Government does not propose extending the statutory defence to cover the range of people who could supply cannabis to terminally ill people."
Michael Woodhouse Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
The National Party had supported this bill at the first reading to send it to Select Committee, but are not happy with its progress. One aspect they are opposed to is the planned temporary allowance for palliative patients to use raw cannabis until a proper local pharmaceutical alternative is developed.
As part of his argument against this National MP Michael Woodhouse highlighted recent Australian research:
"Australian research recently published of a longitudinal study of about 1,700 chronic and terminally ill Australians who used loose-leaf cannabis for pain found that their use of alternative analgesics and opioids went up, not down, and that their levels of anxiety went up, not down. So there is a definite question, in my mind at least, about whether or not illicit substances actually have the effect that it is claimed to have. There may be a placebo effect, or there may be a nice hit when you have the so-called medicinal THC or medicinal cannabis, but there is no real benefit."
The bill passed its second reading with the proposed amendments from the Health Select Committee, and will now come back to the House for its Committee Stage, when MPs can suggest further changes, and where the Minister of Health will introduce those promised changes of his own.
