Connection in Practice: Inside New Zealand’s Medicinal Cannabis Industry Day

The New Zealand Medicinal Cannabis Council (NZMCC) hosted its Industry Day
on Oct. 29, 2025 at the EMA in Auckland, bringing together patients,
clinicians, researchers, cultivators, advocates and policymakers for a
full-day program centered on connection. The agenda was designed to
strengthen links across a sector spanning prescribing, cultivation,
compliance, research, and policy, with sessions focused on practical
collaboration and knowledge sharing.

NZMCC Chair Carmen Doran opened the day and positioned connection as a
deliberate focus for the Council, particularly as NZMCC’s membership has
expanded to include clinicians, emerging cultivators and the wider support
system around the sector, including government, suppliers and academics.
The program moved from a Leaders’ Roundtable on the state of medicinal
cannabis in New Zealand into regulatory and policy briefings, before
splitting into clinical and industry breakout session pathways in the
afternoon.
The Industry Day began with a Leaders’ Roundtable discussion examining
where the medicinal cannabis sector currently stands. Leaders’ Roundtable:
The State of Medicinal Cannabis in New Zealand

Following a Mihi Whakatau, a Māori welcoming ceremony, the Industry Day
began with a Leaders’ Roundtable discussion examining where the medicinal
cannabis sector currently stands. The panel brought together senior figures
from across healthcare, regulation and business, including Terry Teoh,
business growth partner at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE); Tara
Creaven-Capasso, director of regulatory affairs ANZ at MedReleaf Australia;
Paul Naske, CEO at Rua Bioscience, a Māori-founded pharmaceutical company
that specializes in the research, development and sale of medicinal
cannabis products both domestically and internationally; and Natalie Lowe,
CEO of Green Doctors, a New Zealand medicinal cannabis clinic network.

The discussion covered regulatory maturity, patient access, prescribing
trends and the challenges of operating in a tightly regulated environment.
Teoh described the Industry Day as “a great connection point, particularly
given NZMCC’s recent broadening of membership.” He also reflected on New
Zealand’s presence at European Medicinal Cannabis Week earlier in the year.
“From conversations with the NZ attendees and partners, themes that
resonated particularly well included a responsible and ethical ecosystem
that puts people first, NZ’s agricultural leadership heritage, and
companies that are responsive and scalable,” he says.
Regulatory and Policy Briefings: Roles, Responsibilities and Reform

The morning continued with a session called Inside the Regulatory
Framework: Roles, Responsibilities and Compliance, presented by Tania Jones
from the Medicinal Cannabis Agency. Jones outlined how the Agency oversees
New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis system, walking through licensing
requirements, compliance obligations and the responsibilities of operators
across cultivation, manufacture and supply.
[image: NZMCC Industry Day]Tara Creaven-Capasso of MedReleaf Australia
discusses market alignment, product pathways and future opportunities.

This was followed by TGA Consultation Underway in Australia: Implications
for the New Zealand Market, led by Tara Creaven-Capasso, director of
regulatory affairs for ANZ of MedReleaf Australia. Drawing on her
regulatory experience across the Tasman, Creaven-Capasso explained the
scope of the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s consultation process and
discussed what potential changes could mean for market alignment, product
pathways and future opportunities for New Zealand companies.

The final morning session was delivered by Dr Jacek Kolodziej, policy
director at the New Zealand Drug Foundation, who examined safer drug laws,
lived experience and alternative policy approaches. His presentation placed
medicinal cannabis within a broader public health and drug policy context.
*Afternoon Breakouts: Clinical and Industry Pathways*

After lunch, delegates chose between two breakout streams, with many moving
between sessions as discussions progressed.

*Clinical Pathway*

The clinical stream opened with James Yu, pharmacist and co-founder of Ngā
Hua Pharmacy, New Zealand’s leading independent specialist pharmacy focused
on medicinal cannabis, who presented The Importance of Terpene Tailoring.
Yu shared patient case studies drawn from dispensing practice, highlighting
how different terpene profiles and chemovar selection can influence
treatment outcomes.

This was followed by a panel discussion titled Cannabis Challenges in
Practice, moderated by Dr Rick Acland. The panel included Dr William
Parkyn, Dr Afram Adam, and James Yu, and focused on prescribing confidence,
clinical responsibility and real-world barriers to access.

“I was impressed with the level of knowledge and understanding of
appropriate prescription amongst delegates,” Acland says. “Sadly, the wider
medical fraternity struggles to understand this complex pharmacology and
its wide-ranging effects through modulation of the Endocannabinoid System
(ECS). Hopefully, the pool of advocates continues to grow and hence
enhances patient wellbeing. There is a good understanding of the adverse
effects that always need to be appreciated.”

Acland also highlighted agreement within the panel on professional
standards. “I was impressed with the consensus regarding the need to adhere
to agreed prescription protocols,” he says. He noted concern about the
future regulatory environment, referencing legal expertise present in the
room. “I was also impressed that we had a barrister, Adam Holloway, in the
audience who works in the area of medical discipline. There is concern that
specific prescribers may get ‘targeted’ by Registration bodies or Colleges
in the future.”

The clinical pathway concluded with Dr Michael Murphy, Medical Advisor at
CannaPlus+ and Board Member of the ANZCCP, presenting The ANZCCP
Prescribing Guidelines, an update on current best practice and emerging
evidence.
Terry Teoh of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise doscussed international
market expectations.

*Industry Pathway*

The industry stream focused on innovation, sustainability and long-term
planning.

Tua Waaku of Bluelab opened the pathway with Research and New Knowledge for
Cultivation, presenting findings on light spectrum and plant development.
Drawing on Bluelab’s experience designing monitoring and control tools for
growers, the session explored how precision measurement can support
consistent outcomes.

Dr Sam Baldwin of the Bioresource Institute followed with Indoor Crops 30
Years in the Future, examining how advances in technology, environmental
constraints and resource efficiency may reshape cultivation models over the
coming decades.

Energy considerations were addressed by Karan Tikku of Genesis Energy in
Electricity: Challenges and Opportunities, where he outlined cost pressures
facing cultivators and practical pathways to reduce energy use.

The industry pathway concluded with Terry Teoh of New Zealand Trade and
Enterprise presenting Building an Export-Ready Business, focusing on
scalability, regulatory preparedness and international market expectations.
As the clinician who championed the introduction of Sativex in 2006, Dr
Rick Acland has played a central role in New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis
sector for nearly two decades. Sector Reflections: Experience From the
Early Days

Although now retired from clinical practice, Dr Rick Acland says he remains
closely connected to the medicinal cannabis sector. His involvement dates
back to the early 2000s.“Despite being a retired practitioner, I still feel
very much connected with this industry,” he says. “My history with
medicinal cannabis goes back to the early 2000s when I was a member of the
Medicines Assessment Advisory Committee (MAAC) of the Ministry of Health.”

Acland described his role in assessing Sativex in 2006. “At my last meeting
(2006), I was responsible for the assessment of Sativex for registration,”
he says. “I managed to persuade my fellow committee members that there was
enough convincing data to approve it for spasticity of MS. There were a
number of sceptics who did take some cajoling to get Sativex ‘across the
line’.”

Looking back nearly two decades later, he said the decision had held up. “I
think that with the passage of almost 20 years, our decision was correct,
and pleasingly, any fears that had been raised at that meeting have not
eventuated, apart from the prohibitive cost of the agent,” he says.

Acland also reflected on his clinical background. “Throughout my medical
career, I have worked in pain and latterly in spinal cord injury
rehabilitation,” he says. “Frequently, I noted the many patients who gained
useful symptom relief from recreational use.”

He described the shift that followed legal prescribing. “Interestingly,
once medicinal cannabis became available through prescription, I was
‘banned’ by one of the organizations I consulted for from having any
conversation regarding cannabis,” Acland says. “It has concerned me that
the Pain Society has taken such a negative approach, probably because of
the opioid epidemic in the USA, despite there being a growing level of
evidence showing a reduction in opioid use with the introduction of
prescription cannabis.”
Event sponsor Terps & Co, a New Zealand beverage company that uses terpenes
to power its functional sodas. Sponsor Perspective

From a sponsor perspective, Arjun Bhargava, co-founder of innovative
beverage brand Terps & Co, says the Industry Day reflected a broader shift
in how the sector is thinking about cannabis formulation and patient
experience.

“It was heartening to see that terpenes, beyond just THC and CBD, are
finally getting the attention they deserve,” Bhargava says. “Across the
value chain, from pharmacists to manufacturers, there is a growing
appreciation for how pivotal they are and how profoundly they shape the
cannabis experience.”
Looking Ahead

In reflecting on the day, Doran pointed to the connections formed across
the room as the most meaningful outcome. “For me, the standout moment was
seeing groups of people talking together after lunch who wouldn’t usually
meet in their day-to-day work,” she says. “Being able to connect
cultivators choosing which strains to commercialize with prescribing
doctors who hear directly from patients about what works was incredibly
powerful.”

Doran also noted that NZMCC held its AGM as part of the Industry Day,
including the election of new board members intended to reflect the
Council’s expanded membership base. Looking ahead, she said NZMCC plans to
establish working groups in 2026 focused on priority areas for the sector,
including export markets and patient access. “We’ll be diving into issues
that shape the industry here at home, but also as we look to export markets
and support patients in New Zealand and internationally,” she says.

As the peak representative organization for the medicinal cannabis sector
focused on equitable and affordable access to cannabinoid-based medicines,
the NZMCC Industry Day was the perfect opportunity to reinforce
collaboration as the foundation for future progress.

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Industry Day appeared first on Cannabis Now.