Australian medicinal cannabis company Dispensed is reportedly planning to open kiosks at vape stores in New Zealand, sparking concerns among local health agencies.
According to emails obtained by Stuff, Dispensed has established a New Zealand-registered company and is set to launch its operations in the country within the coming weeks.
The emails showed that the company is recruiting sites for kiosks, including vape shops.
These kiosks will allow patients to “sign up for a medical service tailored to their specific needs”, connecting them with “a range of medical service providers”, a spokesperson told Stuff.
Dispensed subscriptions start from $155 per month and include monthly medication, clinician consultations, express delivery and LiveChat patient support.
According to Sally King, executive director of New Zealand Medical Cannabis Council, vape shops and similar sites are “non-medical professional environments” and thus not appropriate to become access points for medicinal cannabis.
The dispensing community, which included pharmacies and doctors, “had worked hard to build up social licence and trust,” she told Stuff, adding that Dispensed seems to be working in a “grey area”.
Medicinal Cannabis Agency group manager Chris James said that Dispensed’s NZ company does not hold a medicinal cannabis licence. He added that even with this license, a company still does not authorise the direct supply of a medicinal cannabis product to a patient.
In New Zealand, a patient can only be supplied medicinal cannabis through a prescription written by a New Zealand-registered doctor, James continued.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson stated that vape stores will only “make up a minority of installation sites” and that the company’s platform “does not influence clinical decision-making”.
“Patient safety is our highest priority, and we require all healthcare professionals using our system to exercise sound clinical judgment, adhere to best practices, and follow appropriate monitoring protocols for responsible and ethical patient care,” he told Stuff.
