Australia About To Legalize Medical Use Of Marijuana

Australia About To Legalize Medical Use Of Marijuana

Australia Goes Dank for Medical Marijuana from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

As of February 10, the land down under has gotten one step closer to legalizing medical marijuana.

The bill was introduced to the Victorian parliament and looks almost guaranteed to become a law since the main opposition immediately supported it. The legislation proposes the use of a permit scheme and national licensing regulations, is seen to help patients with painful, debilitating illnesses through the use of medical cannabis.

Susan Ley, Australian minister for health, told parliament: “This government understands that there are some Australians suffering from severe conditions for which cannabis may have applications and we want to enable access to the most effective medical treatments available.”

cannabis doctors australia

Scientific and Clinical Purposes

The current laws in Australia prohibit the growth of cannabis in the country and as a result Australian researchers, manufacturers, and patients who are undergoing clinical trials for the cultivation of medical marijuana are forced to seek out legal sources of the plant overseas.“Allowing controlled cultivation locally will provide the critical missing piece for a sustainable legal supply of safe medicinal cannabis products for Australian patients in the future,” added Ley.

Once the bill is passed, it would provide a supply to patients and researchers on clinical trials however access to marijuana by the general public and other patients is still not permitted. As for how the government will change the criteria for medical use of cannabis, Australia is expected to make a decision come March. If Australia will end up treating marijuana the way it does with opium, patients experiencing chronic pain may be prescribed with legal doses.

National Policy

Certain Australian states including Victoria have already legalized the cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes. What makes Feb 10’s bill different is that it aims to pave the way for a national policy. In a statement, Ley added: “I am confident creating one single, nationally consistent cultivation scheme, rather than eight individual arrangements, will not only help speed up the legislative and regulatory process, but ultimately access to medicinal cannabis products as well.”

A Step Forward For Asia-Pacific

Should Australia move forward with the legislation, the country will be set apart from its Southeast Asian neighbors who are famously intolerant to illicit drugs. In a number of Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and China, the death sentence is common for drug-related offenders. In Singapore where cannabis is still considered a hard drug, all offenders are punished with the death penalty. According to Amnesty International, China has even started to crack down on celebrities who engage in recreational drug use including marijuana. In 2015,2 Australian nationals who were found to be trafficking heroin in Indonesia, were executed through firing squad even though Canberra pleaded to spare their lives.

Meanwhile, the rest of the globe continues to loosen up when it comes to marijuana use. More than 20 US states as well as Canada have already approved cultivation of medical marijuana. Other countries including the Netherlands, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia have also moved forward, legalizing possession for small quantities of the drug. Some US states have also approved its recreational use.

As of now there are still no plans to legalize the recreational use of cannabis in Australia, as patients with chronic pain are clearly the priority. Ley also added that the first few products derived from medical marijuana may be available in a few months’ time.