Archive · 25 Jun 2025
Women's Medicinal Cannabis Use Rising, With Barriers in NZ
More women are using cannabis for medical reasons.
In New Zealand, women often use it to treat conditions like pain, anxiety, and women's health issues.
However, it can be hard for women to get legal cannabis because it can be expensive and there can be social stigma.
Some women end up buying cannabis illegally, which can be dangerous.
These illegal markets pose risks, so it's important for women to have better access to safe, legal cannabis, and for doctors to be knowledgeable about prescribing it.
The number of women using medicinal cannabis is increasing in New Zealand and internationally.
Women face gender-specific barriers to accessing legal medicinal cannabis, leading some to illegal markets.
Barriers include cost, unpaid caregiving, and societal stigma around cannabis use.
Women in illegal markets face risks, including unsafe products and the potential for violence.
Female patients often rely on online sources and cannabis clinics for information and prescriptions.
- Who
- Women seeking medicinal cannabis.
- What
- Increase in women using medicinal cannabis, and the barriers they face.
- When
- Recent years
- Where
- New Zealand and internationally.
- Why
- To treat various health conditions, but face barriers to accessing it legally.
Barriers to Access
Risks and Challenges
Information access
Barriers to Access
Limited public awareness and education about legal medicinal cannabis schemes.
Risks and Challenges
Increased social media usage can increase misinformation risks, particularly with online peer networks.
- Prescriptions increase
- More than 14-fold since 2020.
- Female prescriptions
- Doubled between 2022 and 2023 to 47,633.
- Primary conditions
- Pain, anxiety, and gynaecological conditions.
- Legal Access Challenges
- Cost of prescriptions, social stigma, and GP hesitancy.
- Illegal Market Risks
- Unsafe products, lack of protection, potential violence.