Tēnā koe,
Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request:

For each calendar year from 2020 to 2025 (year to date): the number of Disability Allowance applications that included medicinal cannabis as a claimed cost, the number approved, the number declined, the reasons recorded for each decline (aggregated by reason category), and the ethnicity of applicants for medicinal cannabis DA claims with approval/decline rates by ethnicity.
Any guidance, policy, or operational instructions provided to MSD staff regarding: assessment of Disability Allowance claims for THC-containing medicinal cannabis products, contraindications or conditions where THC products should not be funded, the clinical basis for any such guidance, and who authored this guidance and their clinical qualifications.
All policy documents, operational guidelines, and staff instructions that define what constitutes a "suitable, funded alternative medication" for Disability Allowance purposes, the process for determining whether a funded alternative exists, who has authority to make this determination, and whether the treating practitioner's clinical judgment that no suitable alternative exists can be overridden, and by whom. If any of these matters are not documented in policy, please confirm that.

I look forward to your response within 20 working days as required by the Act.
Ngā mihi

DOGE