In March 2003, then-botany student and cannabis activist Abe Gray made headlines by "hotboxing" a Dunedin police station during an annual J Day protest - a move that sparked the idea for New Zealand's first cannabis museum.
The Whakamana Cannabis Museum began in Gray's Dunedin flat as a small side project, before eventually blooming into a fully fledged business, offering everything from a cafe to lodging.
A 2020 referendum brought the debate on cannabis prohibition to the fore, with full legalisation narrowly losing the vote. However, cannabis for medicinal use has been legal since 2018.
"It was apparent the THC flower was going to be approved as a product class and that medical cannabis in New Zealand was about to become a heck of a lot more relevant to existing users than it had been in the past," Gray said.
As legislation evolved, so too had Whakamana Cannabis Museum. It secured funding, which allowed it to re-open in central Auckland out of the Hopetoun Alpha building.
Medicinal cannabis on display at Whakamana Cannabis Museum. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Now, Whakamana is the only comprehensive cannabis prescription service in the country - offering education, in-person doctor consultations and dispensing, all in one visit. Compared to other cannabis clinics - which could take up to a week to dispense - that was a swift service.
Lucy Farland - a new patient under Whakamana's care - has lived with chronic pain, endometriosis and insomnia for years and had been struggling to find a treatment that worked for her.
"When you've got chronic pain and you've got chronic sleep issues ... it can really, really, really help with relief," she said.
"It's a huge one for pain and inflammation, nausea - which can be a big one. It can really help with sleep - and the medications for sleep aren't great."
Lucy Farland is being prescribed cannabis at Whakamana Cannabis Museum. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Farland said getting prescribed cannabis through the museum was a "really easy process" and she walked out of the building with her cannabis flower within two hours.
"[The doctor] asked about my health history and my usage history, what medications I'm on, and a few lifestyle questions as well," she said.
"There's really not much help out there and there's long years of suffering... Even if it can help someone have a good afternoon or a good sleep, I'm all for it."
But not everyone is supportive of the approach.
Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners president Dr Samantha Murton was concerned about the lack of evidence on the positive impact of cannabis on certain health conditions.
The college did not encourage or recommend the use of medicinal cannabis. However, it recognised that GPs might offer to prescribe it, she said.
"There's a lack of current evidence around the benefits of medicinal cannabis.
"It doesn't necessarily improve things, and we do not know what the side effects or consequences are, long term. I personally don't prescribe it."
Whakamana Cannabis Museum is in the Hopetoun Alpha building in Auckland CBD. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Gray disagreed, saying medicinal cannabis played a crucial role in harm reduction for existing users.
"To drive them to the black market, to be forced to move in criminal circles, potentially get tainted products, get ripped off... There's no quality control, there's no consumer protection.
"If you start thinking about the improved sleep, or improved productivity, or whatever it is, then there's plenty of indications to prescribe."
Gray, the former president of the Legalise Cannabis Party, said for existing users, there was no reason to be consuming cannabis illegally any more.
"Just because you're having fun, doesn't mean it's not a legitimate medicine.
"If you're lawfully prescribed and you're using an electronic device like a vaporiser, that is a medical device - that's the same as an asthma inhaler or an insulin pen."
However, Murton said the fact someone was already buying cannabis on the black market was not a reason for it to be prescribed medicinally.
"I'd say to people if you want to explore this further, you need to go and see someone who understands the medication, what it's useful for and what it's not useful for and then you can have that discussion with them.
"If it was the wonder drug, one would think it would have been a medicinal medication a long time ago."
Abe Gray says the current medicinal cannabis legislation is "entirely workable". Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
In a statement to RNZ, Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti said the government had no intention of extending or limiting access to medicinal cannabis.
But for Gray, the current legislation was "entirely workable".
"The referendum was four years ago. If it were run again today, it would be a totally different result.
"A new referendum today would have been an even better deal for users because we're not going to go backwards, that's for sure."
