At the end of part one of Newshub's documentary on cannabis, Patrick Gower: On Weed, Newshub's national correspondent Patrick Gower obtained a medical recommendation to take marijuana to treat his stress and anxiety.
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Now, we watch him follow through. Sitting in Dr Joe Cohen's office, Gower raises the vape to his lips and inhales deeply.
"I want you to do it a few times," Dr Cohen advises him. "Take a few hits."
"I'm feeling that that's enough," Gower says.
"Take one more," Dr Cohen replies.
"Medically, you'd like me to take one more?" Gower asks.
"Yeah" is the answer.
The effects kick in quickly. Gower grins and waggles his eyebrows as the doctor's shirt pops in front of him.
"Yeah, I do have some psychoactivity," he says. "Thank you doctor!"
After this, Gower heads to a university mobile lab to get tested. The research team there are trying to get actual data on the medical effects of cannabis.
Blood is drawn and Gower undergoes a cognition test, which checks his memory and motor skills.
"Am I high? Yes I am. Do I dislike the effects that I'm feeling? No I don't, not really. Do I like the effects? Yes I do," he tells the team, describing his mood as "euphoric".
"This is a fun fun fun test!" he exclaims.
Vaping is one way to consume cannabis, eating it is another. The effects are less predictable, longer-lasting, and slower to come up.
Kiwi woman Amanda Jones has founded the cannabis-tea company Kikoko, which offers a range of cannabis-infused teas like 'POSITIVI-TEA', 'TRANQUILI-TEA' and 'SENSUALI-TEA' - the last of which is particularly good for libido.
"We hit a sweet spot. And that sweet spot is women looking to replace their alcohol and pharmaceuticals," Jones says.
So after trying cannabis for stress, it's now time to try cannabis for fun. Gower goes straight for the strongest tea. It takes about half an hour for the effects to set in but soon Gower is "definitely feeling a buzz".
