Medicinal cannabis could be legally available by 2016

Jane Lee

Medicinal cannabis could be legally grown and prescribed to patients as early as next year under a cross party bill that has attracted initial support from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Greens leader, senator Richard Di Natale, announced on Monday that the bill to create a regulator for medicinal cannabis for certain conditions had been drafted and would be put before the Senate for a vote in November.

While Victoria and NSW state governments had indicated that they wanted to legalise medicinal cannabis, a federal regulatory scheme was required to do this: "We need national laws to make sure we can licence growers … that doctors can prescribe this and that the medication gets in the hands of patients who need it."

Medicinal cannabis my soon be legalised in Australia. Photo: Max Mason Hubers
 

If passed, there was "no reason" Australia could not begin importing medicinal cannabis and make it available for patients next year, ahead of creating a locally grown industry for the drug.

The drug could be prescribed for certain conditions where there was "overwhelming evidence" of its effectiveness, including stopping muscle spasms from multiple sclerosis, and as an appetite stimulant for some terminal illnesses.

States and territories that opted in to the regulatory scheme would be required to amend their respective criminal laws to exclude medicinal cannabis.

Federal Greens leader Richard Di Natale. Photo: Chris Hopkins
 

The move follows a Senate committee in August giving its unanimous endorsement for the bill - which was introduced into Parliament last November.

Coalition senator Ian MacDonald, who chaired the committee, said Mr Turnbull and Health Minister Sussan Ley "are totally supportive to the concept" of legalising medicinal cannabis.

While the Department of Health still had concerns over "technical details" in the proposed law, he said: "We must get a resolution which provides this relief at the soonest possible time."

Health Minister Sussan Ley said the Turnbull government was "incredibly sympathetic" to the plight of those suffering chronic pain and illnesses "and we want to ensure they get access to the most effective medical treatments available".

Asked whether she supported the proposed bill to legalise medicinal cannabis, Ms Ley said she would consider the Senate committee's recommendations and continue to discuss them with her parliamentary colleagues.

"We must ensure any therapeutic product, including medicinal cannabis, is not only a safe and effective treatment for public use, but also meets our strict international obligations safe-guarding its manufacture and distribution for medical purposes only," she said.

Labor senator Anne Urquhart, who will co-sponsor the bill, said people were already risking criminal charges to use the drug: "We still need to trial some of these substances and [also] make sure that people are safe from criminality and that we have a safe, effective and affordable system where people can access medicinal cannabis."

Their comments were echoed by Liberal senator Sharman Stone, Labor senator Melissa Parke and Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm.

Lucy Haslam, a key campaigner for the legalisation of medical marijuana said on Monday there were existing overseas regulation models that could be drawn on without delay.

"We've got to get past the rhetoric and fallacies … that have surrounded medicinal cannabis for so many years," she said.

Ms Haslam's son, Dan, used medical cannabis to relieve the nausea and vomiting he experienced as he underwent chemotherapy. Mr Haslam, 25, died earlier this year.

"This is what the Australian people need. They needed it yesterday. It's too late for my son but it's not too late for thousands of others in Australia."

Senator Di Natale said that they had not worked out how much it would cost to establish a regulator. They were continuing to draft the bill to ensure the regulatory scheme complied with Australia's obligations under international treaties.