Pubdate: Thu, 02 Nov 2000
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Copyright: 2000 The Sydney Morning Herald
Contact:  GPO Box 3771, Sydney NSW 2001
Fax: +61-(0)2-9282 3492
Website: http://www.smh.com.au/
Forum: http://forums.fairfax.com.au/
Author: Paola Totaro

LEGAL CANNABIS PROPOSED FOR PAIN RELIEF

Doctors will be given powers to authorise cannabis use by patients 
suffering chronic pain or debilitating, degenerative or terminal illnesses, 
under a radical drug law reform proposal considered by State Cabinet.

Under the changes, patients would effectively be given short-term 
exemptions from criminal laws, allowing them to smoke cannabis and grow a 
small number of plants for personal use during the period approved by their 
doctor.

This would avoid the need to resort to the blackmarket to obtain the drug 
and carers of severely debilitated patients would be given permission to 
grow the plants.

The reform plan, which was released for public input by the Premier, Mr 
Carr, in Parliament yesterday, aims to provide a balance between the 
special needs of often terminally ill patients and community fears and 
anxiety about the recreational use of cannabis among youth.

However, patients will have to get permission from their doctors before 
using cannabis, will be restricted to growing no more than five small 
plants and be expected to renew their use certificate, possibly after six 
months.

Only patients suffering from one of a restricted list of medical conditions 
would be exempt from criminal laws. These would include: AIDS and 
cancer-related wasting; nausea from cancer chemotherapy; muscle spasm in 
neurological disorders; and chronic pain not relieved by conventional 
treatment.

The reforms were recommended by a working party of academics, including 
pharmacologists, drug and pain experts, cancer and AIDS specialists and 
senior legal and NSW police representatives.

The report was commissioned by Mr Carr, who asked the group, chaired by 
Professor Wayne Hall of the University of NSW's National Drug and Alcohol 
Research Centre, to investigate the possible medical uses of cannabis and 
cannabinoid drugs.

The group reviewed world data on the safety and efficacy of using the crude 
cannabis plant, usually ingested by smoking, as well as the use of highly 
refined, pharmaceutically pure forms of the active ingredient of cannabis, 
Tetrahydrocannabinol, often known as THC.

At present, there are no registered cannabinoid drugs registered in 
Australia despite the registration of THC in America and another synthetic 
form in Britain. However, because the drugs in this form are not well 
absorbed when taken orally, it is unlikely they would be registered or 
offered for registration by drug companies in Australia.

The working party concluded that because it was unlikely that THC would be 
registered or produced synthetically locally in the short term, patients 
seeking pain relief through smoking cannabis should not be prosecuted.

The move, if accepted after community consultation, would be trialled over 
two years and designed to provide legal relief only until pharmaceutical 
cannabinoids become available.

The working party highlighted the health risks of cannabis and endorsed its 
use only as a pain management and therapeutic option for patients who do 
not respond to conventional pain relief.

The Special Minister of State, Mr Della Bosca, said yesterday there would 
be widespread community consultation in NSW about the report's recommendations.

"Any medical use of cannabis has to be strictly controlled. The Government 
has always rejected the legalisation or decrimin-alisation of marijuana.

"But, if cannabis can relieve the suffering of people in terrible pain, 
then compassion dictates we should make every effort to explore how that 
can be done.

"Together with the community, the NSW Government wants to find ways to ease 
the pain of people suffering from chronic medical conditions."
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