Posts by Rosemary McDonald
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Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis and Other Matters) Amendment Bill
If I'm reading this right...this may actually be a step in the right direction...Having said that...there will be bogies...
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I am assuming that the Government has spoken with medical professionals regarding proposed legislation to give access to cannabis based medicines.
GPs have been surveyed to ascertain the extent of usage of 'unregulated' products, their efficacy and safety?
And I would imagine that many GPs, if they were consulted on the issue, would also tell the government that the proposed legislation will not, in any way, provide greater (legal) access to patients to such products unless they are available at much reduced prices.
You'd hope also, that medical professionals are keeping some sort of (hopefully anonymised) records of use, efficacy and safety of unregulated products that their patients have admitted using.
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The Green Fairies make their mission statement...
There’s growing scientific evidence that cannabinoids do have measurable positive effects. In double-blind trials (the gold standard of clinical trials), cannabis products decreased or prevented chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting in cancer patients.
Cannabis products with a high cannabidiol (CBD) content can be used without the psychoactive effects normally associated with marijuanaCannabis products with a high cannabidiol (CBD) content can be used without the psychoactive effects normally associated with marijuana Photo: RNZ / Kate Newton
There’s good evidence it helps with multiple sclerosis symptoms, its pain relief effects have been backed up by several studies, while other double-blind trials have concluded that childhood epilepsy and seizures also seem to respond to CBD.Animal trials - which are not necessarily any indication that the results will be repeated for humans - found that some cannabinoids had anti-tumour properties.
The research is helpful, Paul says. It converts sceptical patients and doctors. It makes it more palatable to the public.
But for him, the evidence that matters is what he sees.
“Of course, a lot of nay-sayers will say it’s just anecdotal. I say - f*** you, it’s not. This is proof that it’s working.”
They had hoped for a swift law change from the new government but know now that won’t happen in time for Cowie.
Not that the law matters, Wood says.
“Whether the local stuff becomes legal or not, we’re going to continue to do what we do.”
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To drag this conversation back on the track of Russell's post...
The Speech from the Throne recently confirmed that in the first 100 days of Jacinda Ardern’s government: ”Medicinal cannabis will be made available for people with terminal illnesses or in chronic pain.”
I’ve been able to glean something of what that statement will actually mean in practice, and I can tell you now that many advocates will be disappointed.
And I suspect, as someone who has experienced the beneficence of a donation from a 'green fairy', that that final statement will be correct.
What will happen is that yes, medical cannabis be will 'legalised', but it will be restricted and regulated and forced into complying with standards set by evidenced based science that the product will be out of the financial reach of most.
In the meantime...the evidence of harm caused by prescription painkillers is overwhelming....
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Hard News: This is your government on drugs, in reply to Carol Stewart,
But she also blatantly misleads people and misrepresents scientific evidence.
I guess like this scientist...
and this one....
Both of them thoroughly address the issues you raise....
Devra Davis in particular spends some time explaining the difficulty shifting from one accepted scientific viewpoint to a complete opposite one.
You bring up about pesticides.
I know quite a bit about this topic...admittedly researched from the potentially biased position of someone whose family had suffered adverse effects of irresponsible and probably illegal use of a hazardous substance approved by what was then ERMA.
Approval for the use of this agrichemical was gained on the proviso that it was applied according to certain standards and conditions. (as is usual under the HSNO Act)
Various government and industry bodies were appointed to regulate and enforce these conditions.
Sadly, when the shit hit the whirly thing, none of these agencies did the work they had been charged with doing under the various Standards, Acts and Regional Plans.
None of them.
And...I have evidence of this.
Sound, solid and irrefutable evidence of the failure of these agencies to properly meet their statutory obligations to ensure the proper and safe use of this (and potentially any other) agrichemical.
And....scientific evidence that the chemical that was touted as being 'safe' is, in fact, anything but...and this was through research funded by the company that held the patent.
This is a complicated field. There are reputations to protect and funding for research to be sourced and I get that there is a necessity for many scientists to toe the line...
But automatically denigrating those with alternate viewpoints without actually doing even a small investigation to gauge whether or not they might have valid grounds for concern is, well, just not science.
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Hard News: This is your government on drugs, in reply to Carol Stewart,
In other words, anti-science.
Off with her head!
It must be a comfortable place to be, there, where Science is irrefutable.
I am becoming increasingly concerned that those who do not live in that comfortable place, who are inclined towards a precautionary approach, are assigned labels which imply they are somehow not only anti- Science but anti-humanity as well.
Case in point would be that stalwart of Public Good Dr-Lance-O-Sullivan. (And it is well worth reading that article).
I have spoke with many mothers of children who were adversely affected by a vaccine.
Mothers whose children were completely healthy and 'normal' before having the vaccination.
In most cases it was acknowledged by the doctors involved that their child's condition was in all likelihood due to an adverse reaction to the vaccine.
And...and this is the significant factor that piqued my interest ... was the high level of funded supports they were receiving. When I commented on this, I was told that it was because they(the Misery of Health) knew it was a vaccine related disability.But we never, ever hear about these cases.
With the Good Doctor Lance..he kinda shit in his own pond that day..the haka, the ranting, the personal insults...one young Maori mother I met a few days later spat on the ground that the so called defender of the health of Maori had completely and utterly dismissed her and all the other mothers whose children had suffered adverse effects from vaccinations. I believe the primary duty of a community health professional is to gain and maintain the trust and respect of the community they serve.
So...IMHO...good on those like Sue Grey, who question, and speak out and represent those with a different viewpoint.
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An truly excellent piece of journalism Russell.
I've been trying to follow what's been happening to Rose Renton over the past few months...comes under the heading of 'wees, bums, poohs and aresholes', quite frankly.
Someone, perhaps sensing that their grip on power was waning, obviously declared a fatwa.
I have been sending positive and supportive thoughts Nelsonwards...
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Access: GTFO of Our Accessible Bathrooms, in reply to WaterDragon,
All of the toilets. All of the time. Everywhere.
Yes please. Should be written into the Building Code immediately.
...I predict several million squillion re-runs...
Conjured up similar images to those generated by Polly's rant.
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Access: GTFO of Our Accessible Bathrooms, in reply to Joe Wylie,
Hah! All part of the eco friendly facilities and clearly they need to cater for hand sanitation for persons of all heights!
The water economies extend to the toilet flushing...no amount of clever water minimization design can cope with the effluvia of Te Araroa trail hikers who have been holding on for days, while sustaining themselves on nuts and the like.
Back on topic...there are wheelchair friendly facilities at the Cape complex, although for at least a year, the door of the one in the gents had come adrift from its moorings and had to be lifted in and out of place if privacy was required by the user....
There is an Iwi/DoC co-management system in place and sometimes there is some quite extended discussion twixt the two as to who is responsible for what. If it ain't fixed by the time we get back up there in February I'll grab my toolkit from the Bus and sneak in and do a Moz.
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Access: GTFO of Our Accessible Bathrooms, in reply to Chelle Hope,
Not just for me but for others with varying access needs
Sigh....we kinda gave up recognizing the 'wheelie' symbol denoting accessibility. What the para doing the evaluation for the accreditation considered accessible is not necessarily going to work for the tetraplegic who needs at least one AB in the room assisting.
That's one of the reasons we did up the Bus.
You'd have a giggle at the use of the wheelie symbol at our favourite DOC camp up by Cape Reinga. All three sets of toilets have somehow earned the 'symbol'...and yes, there are grab rails so one can lower and rise from the long drop.
But, but, none of the loos are on the flat, or has access to the building that is reasonably level and even. There are steps, and narrow concrete paths.... We were there once when a young para from Aussie arrived with a mate on a day trip and of course he hooked up with the only other wheelie in hundred kilometers. After a drink and a natter he needed to go...and go he did! Oh for the newly minted energy of youth (and a lower lesion than C5) as he bounced his way up the steep gravel path...!