Health New Zealand data shows the number of medicinal cannabis product dispensings soared from 4875 in 2020, to 265,731 in 2025.
Health New Zealand data shows the number of medicinal cannabis product dispensings soared from 4875 in 2020, to 265,731 in 2025.
The medicinal cannabis industry has growing pains.
There are reports that thousands of patients are facing stock shortages and a supplier has gone into voluntary liquidation.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora data show the number of medicinal cannabis products dispensed soared from 4875 in 2020, when thescheme began, to 265,731 in 2025.
More than 80 medicinal cannabis products have been verified since the scheme started in 2020, including 25 new products last year.
Cannabis Clinic chief executive Waseem Alzaher said his staff had seen the demand for legal medicinal cannabis rise in recent years, while the regulatory environment was figuring out how to adapt.
He said it was difficult for prescribers to import the right quantity, as the legislation encourages a three-month shelf life for some products, making it tougher.
“Although the same product could be good for 12 months in its identical form overseas, again the legislation is getting in the way and makes no sense.”
The regulation was hampering the industry’s ability to grow.
Alzaher said several parts of the process were causing problems, including product registration, the standards being applied and how easy it was to export.
“If we don’t make a move now, in the next 12 months, more companies will go under.”
Helius Group chief executive Vicky Taylor says more GPs and clinics are prescribing, and it was really difficult to react quickly when specific products go out of stock.
Helius Group, which owns supplier Helius Therapeutics – which entered voluntary redundancy last week – and prescriber CannaPlus, has noticed shortages since December.
Chief executive Vicky Taylor said there were more GPs and clinics prescribing and it was really difficult to react quickly when specific products went out of stock.
“We aren’t making breakfast cereal, we are growing a plant and processing it under very regulated conditions with stringent testing requirements, all of which takes time.
“A lot of businesses like Helius invested in quite expensive infrastructure and then as the industry has been slower to develop, we’ve been stuck with these high-cost bases.”
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora said it has not been alerted to any widespread shortages. Photo /Josie McClutchie
Medicinal Cannabis Distributor NUBU said it currently has good stock levels and doesn’t foresee any issues in the near term.
The Ministry of Health said the agency had not been alerted to any widespread shortages.
“We engage regularly with the industry and are generally notified informally when there are stock shortages.”
The ministry said it also regularly engaged with the industry about the regulations, to ensure they struck a balance between maintaining the intent of the regulations and allowing businesses to operate pragmatically.
The agency said it is continuing to process applications for more new medicinal cannabis products.
Regulation Minister David Seymour said he's open to changes the rules with the domestic medicinal cannabis sector, following success in the export market. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“So far, my focus in the medicinal cannabis space has been speeding up processes in the export market. As a result of improvements within Medsafe, export licences are being processed 56% faster than in 2023, and we’re looking into further improvements.“
“I’m open to looking at how we can improve regulation for the domestic market as well. I encourage suppliers to contact the Ministry for Regulation with their concerns.”
Lachlan Rennie is an Auckland-based multimedia journalist for Newstalk ZB covering science, defence, technology, community issues and general news. He previously studied journalism at the New Zealand Broadcasting School before joining NZME in 2024.
