SLEEP

"Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,

Smiles awake you when you rise;

Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry,

And I will sing a lullaby,

Rock them, rock them, lullaby …"

         - From  Thomas Dekker’s 1603 play Patient Grissel,  later stolen by The Beatles.

That previous post reminded me of sleep and sleeping.

My partner, The Old Girl has trouble sleeping usually only managing a few hours a night at best.

I normally don't have trouble myself, I’m so good at sleeping that I can do it with my eyes closed.

A chap at the tennis club who, since a serious health issue also has a sleep problem. He told us that he takes cannabis oil now which has cured him of insomnia and, so he claims, has helped with his various aches and pains.

Cannabis oil, or CBD oil is not yet freely available in pharmacies and requires a doctor's prescription to buy it.

Look, don't rely on my sketchy understanding of this. Here's what I got off the 'net'

Is CBD Oil Legal in NZ?

Yes, CBD oil is legal in NZ as a prescription medication and is available for you to purchase through your local pharmacy with a script or from our partner pharmacy. To obtain a prescription, you can consult with a Cannabis Clinic doctor or your own GP.

On a side note, cannabis oil generally refers to CBD oil and is, therefore, also legal in NZ with a prescription.

CBD oil has actually been legal in NZ since late 2017 and patients have been using it since then. Unfortunately there are still barriers to access for many Kiwis. Patients will often tell us that their GP has refused to prescribe. This is mainly due to GPs having a lack of experience and confidence in prescribing but it also reflects opinions about CBD oil as not being a genuine medication. 

While CBD oil is legal in NZ, it is not legal to substitute products. This means that whatever product your GP writes on your prescription, your local pharmacy must give you this product – even if an alternative product suits you better or is cheaper.

Now the more observant among you might have noticed that this 'advice' is a bit biased in favour of 'Cannabis Clinic doctors' and scathing of regular GPs and the medical profession in general. No doubt a 'Cannabis Clinic doctor' looks like this:

Certainly not what our GP looks like.

The chap at the tennis club, in his 70s is a bit of an old hippy and no doubt has his own sources for CBD oil.

I told The Old Girl about this and she was sceptical at her chances of getting a prescription or a legal supply and, besides, she has never smoked cigarettes so isn't keen on taking cannabis in any form other than as a tablet.

I suggested she use a hookah.

I got 'that look'.