Cannabis passed in Senate
February 25, 2016
MEDICINAL cannabis can be
legally grown in Australia following
changes to the Narcotic Drugs Act
passed in the Senate yesterday
afternoon.
The changes will allow a national
body to issue licences to medical
marijuana growers as well as
allowing the manufacture of
medicinal cannabis products in
Australia.
Recreational marijuana remains
illegal on all fronts with criminal
laws still in place, the Health
Department said.
In an official statement from
Health Minister Sussan Ley said it
was “an historic day for Australia
and the many advocates who have
fought long and hard to challenge
the stigma around medical cannabis
products so genuine patients are no
longer treated as criminals”.
Ley described this legislation as
“the missing piece in a patient’s
treatment journey” and stressed
that the law will now enable
seamless access to locally-produced
cannabis products from farm to
pharmacy.
“Under this scheme, a patient
with a valid prescription can
possess and use a medicinal
cannabis product manufactured
from cannabis plants legally
cultivated in Australia”.
Ley also announced that
Department of Health together
with the Therapeutic Goods
Administration were “well advanced”
downgrading the
drug to a lower level on the
Poisons Schedule to a “controlled
substance” class.
“This will in turn reduce any
barriers to access, no matter what
state a patient lives in,” she said.
Mal Washer, chairman of
AusCann, a prominent group that
has been seeking rights to become
a licensed medical cannabis grower
in Australasia, told SMH the TGA
still had to determine the types
of medicinal cannabis that could
legally be grown.
He indicated however, that the
group may begin growing the
product within a month from now.
He said the new medical cannabis
products would be in high demand
to help treat epilepsy as well as
nausea following chemotherapy
treatment.
AusCann Group Holdings Ltd is set
to list on the ASX after a successful
$3m capital raising.
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