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The Marijuana Museum of Dunedin, founded by Abe Gray of Otago Norml and Julian Crawford of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), opens its doors this week to educate locals and tourists on the world of cannabis. Crawford is also a candidate for the Otago District Health Board (DHB) and the Dunedin City Council (DCC). He intends to push for the legalisation of marijuana and has high hopes of creating a “Dunsterdam” in the future.

The museum is located at 66 David Street, South Dunedin, and is open during standard working hours. Exhibitions will rotate throughout the year, with the first display showcasing what Crawford describes as “the unique Kiwi style of spotting, which is uncommon overseas,” complete with stoves, heated knives and anatomically moveable mannequins.

Among many ideas for future exhibits is a display of the different types of growing chambers used in NZ, such as wall cut-outs and the inside of computers.

The museum’s research library contains over 100 books on the history and use of cannabis, many of which are not available in other public libraries. Computers and free WiFi are also in place to allow open access to further research. Gray says that the museum intends to make PDF versions of all of the books available so that visitors can bring in USB drives and make copies of the information.

The building is also home to the new base of the ALCP. The offices will include a broadcasting studio and a computer suite for running the organisation’s electoral campaigns next year.

Entry to the museum will be free of charge – it is being funded purely by donations “from generous people who support the legalisation of marijuana and the work we do,” Gray explains. Merchandise will also be sold at the museum, including t-shirts and “glass vases.”

Dunedin was chosen as the home for the museum as Gray and Crawford both plan on staying here for a while. Gray explained that “jobs are hard to come by as graduates, so we created jobs for ourselves and for others.” The pair also claims that Dunedin has a history as the most active centre in New Zealand for advocating cannabis legalisation, so the museum celebrates previous efforts.

Sergeant Edward Baker of the Dunedin Police denies having heard about the museum, despite reports in the Otago Daily Times that “police would be paying the museum a visit.” However, he says that “we have no issues with it, so long as no criminal activity is taking place.”

Referring to what they call “Dunsterdam,” Crawford and Gray say they would like to see Dunedin become the “Amsterdam of the South Pacific.” Crawford argues that “Dutch-style cannabis cafés would go well in red light areas here. We’ve got prostitution and gambling so we might as well go the whole way.”

Gray was a little more reserved, stating that “my focus is the cannabis element. I think a lot of neighbourhoods would like a cannabis café.” He would like to at least see a small enclave “so as not to offend people” but he believes that “the generational change people talk about is happening. I think Dunedin is ready for it.”

Gray believes a “Dunsterdam” would bring in “higher calibre tourists who stay in hotels and spend money, instead of campers” (who spend less money – perhaps because they are not high).

In regards to his campaign for a position on the DHB, Crawford is not aware of how other members of the DHB or the DCC feel about medicinal marijuana. “I will just have to await the support from the public, then work on convincing the others.”

The main objective of Crawford’s campaign is to push through the legalisation of medicinal marijuana. The only cannabis drug that may be prescribed in New Zealand is Sativex, a mouth spray containing cannabis extracts. However, as Sativex is not funded by Pharmac, it costs users about $600 a month to use, and is therefore out of the reach of many. Possession of raw cannabis in any form is still illegal, including for those with a Sativex prescription.

Doctors in a growing number of countries around the world, including the United States and Germany, are now legally prescribing cannabis for people suffering from cancer, MS, chronic pain, glaucoma and HIV.

Crawford explains that the biggest obstacle to the introduction of medical marijuana is the fact that no company can patent the plant. Pharmaceutical companies therefore refuse to pay for the research, as the information generated cannot be copyrighted.

In 2011, The New Zealand Law Commission found that “there are significant differences of opinion on whether unprocessed cannabis should be available for therapeutic use and that this would not be resolved until randomised control trials were launched.” It stated that cannabis should not be a special case, but should be treated in the same way as other controlled drugs that have medicinal uses.

Dr Kim Maiai, director of Student Health, told Critic that “we do see students with problems in their academic and personal lives who have failed to link it with their use of cannabis.” Maiai believes there are bigger problems, though. “The king of drugs is alcohol. Absolutely, no question, alcohol is more of a problem.”