Government Finally Comes Around to Clinical Cannabis Trial

MEDICINAL cannabis could rival the state's $100 million poppy industry if given the green light, the Opposition says, as the State Government finally throws its support behind a trial.

Tasmanian Health Minister Michael Ferguson said yesterday he supported a trial, reversing a stance in July which rejected the move on health, social and security grounds.

"We support appropriately conducted clinical trials, feeding into the existing national medicines regulatory framework," Mr Ferguson said.

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In recent weeks we have seen the political landscape shifting rapidly as moves to legalise medicinal cannabis in Australia gain momentum.

But do we have enough evidence on both its potential long-term adverse effects and the short-term health benefits to fully inform our decisions?

I believe the answer to that question is no. That is why I am urging Australian governments at all levels to urgently invest in and support further research and clinical trials.

The risks and benefits of medicinal cannabis should be weighed carefully, and its ingredients must be subjected to the same scrutiny as other medicines.

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A DOCTOR says he will continue to defy authorities and supply medical cannabis to Australian children despite the threat of legal action.

Cannabis oil producer Dr Andrew Katelaris, who was deregistered in 2005 after refusing to stop supplying cannabis to patients, said desperate families turned to him because they had run out of options.

It is understood Dr Katelaris has a secret laboratory from which parcels of the drug, sometimes worth thousands of dollars, are sent across Australia. Cannabis oil and tincture is produced at the location, near Sydney, and delivered to 12 children across the country.

He also produces cannabis resin for adult patients, including elderly people who are terminally ill.

Dr Katelaris, who has been arrested a dozen times, was determined to continue, saying he is prepared to take the risk to help children.

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Coalition Reform Will Do Little, Say Experts

A Victorian government plan to make clinical trials of medicinal marijuana easier to conduct will do little to expand access to the drug, an expert on drug law reform says.

In response to growing calls for cannabis to be legalised for people with certain illnesses, including children with intractable epilepsy, Victorian Health Minister David Davis said on Thursday that he would amend the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act to make it easier for doctors to conduct clinical trials of medicinal cannabis.

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I CAN'T believe opium poppy crops are being grown in northern Victoria, for pain relief drugs such as morphine and codeine.

Why does the law allow opium to be grown, prescribed and given to people but medical cannabis cannot? As a parent of a disabled child who suffers from severe epilepsy (up to 100 seizures a day and taking medication), I think this is a disgrace.

We are allowed to give a drug to stop people from a bit of pain, but we are not allowed to give a drug that will reduce severe pain and seizures.

Carolyn Lewis, Lockington

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HOW is it that the public can buy morphine derivatives over the counter at pharmacies, as well as pseudoephedrine, which can be converted to methamphetamine, yet an innocent child's cannabis oil, which has significantly helped to manage his epilepsy, is taken away? My dear friend recently diagnosed with terminal lung cancer could also benefit from cannabis oil, yet he cannot purchase this legally.

A 2007 Harvard Medical School study - one of many such trials - showed marijuana cut lung cancer tumour growth in half. It is legal in some US states.

I am absolutely against recreational drugs, but why can't cannabis oil be strictly prescribed by GPs and oncologists, if it saves or helps prolong lives?

Sally Mort, Black Rock

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Compound May Be Tested on Young

A compound found in marijuana could soon be tested on young Australians to prevent and treat psychosis after European research suggested it could treat schizophrenia with fewer side effects than other drugs.

As state and federal governments face increasing calls for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, leading psychiatrist and mental health advocate Patrick McGorry said one part of the drug was showing promise as an anti-psychotic medicine.

The director of Orygen Youth Health Research Centre said while tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC) in cannabis was widely thought to be dangerous and increase the risk of psychosis in about 10 per cent to 20 per cent of people, another component cannabidiol ( CBD) appeared to relieve psychosis, depression and anxiety.

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A PARLIAMENTARY inquiry into medical cannabis has been flooded with support from Tasmanians.

About 100 submissions have been sent to an Upper House inquiry set to begin hearings within weeks.

Independent MLC Ruth Forrest said people seemed to be in favour of the economic benefits of a new industry, as well as the potential health benefits of cannabis for medical purposes.

Ms Forrest said many people were moved to write into the inquiry on compassionate grounds, arguing medical cannabis should be explored as an option for people for whom other medications had failed.

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Medical cannabis will be legalised in Victoria if Labor seizes power at November's state election.

Under the proposal, Victorians with terminal illnesses or life threatening conditions such as cancer, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis would be able to access medicinal marijuana without breaking the law.

Opposition leader Daniel Andrews said on Sunday that Labor would overhaul "outdated" legislation that forced parents to flout laws in order to save their children's lives.

" We're talking about a medication to make people better, to improve quality of life, to provide dignity and pain relief, nothing more, nothing less," Mr Andrews said.

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The drug that dragged down Harriet Wran from a life of private schools and luxury apartments has no respect for social class or status.

Grinspoon lead singer Phil Jamieson became withdrawn and paranoid, stealing money from his band to feed his daily addiction. Two-time world surfing champion Tom Carroll recently described how ice made him "completely manic", saying: "It was killing me from the inside out."

"No one is immune," says drugs expert Rebecca McKetin. "We like to think problems happen to other people but it could happen to us or people like us."

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THE vexed question of legalising medical marijuana is gaining momentum in Australia. Only recently NSW Premier Mike Baird said he wouldn't completely rule it out.

Now, Brisbane mum Sally White tells 60 Minutes tonight that her 16-month-old daughter is dying and she wants to put her child on weed. A young cancer sufferer in Tamworth in NSW, his father a policeman, is waging a campaign to have medical marijuana made legal. It is legal in Colorado in the US and other states are investigating.

Properly regulated and with rigorous eligibility criteria, surely if it gives the dying relief, legalising medical marijuana must be investigated in this country.

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TWO Queensland mums have made desperate pleas to legalise marijuana to save their children's lives, including one who is just 16 months old.

Sunshine Coast mum Sally White fears for the life of her 16-month-old daughter Zali, who suffers from a rare genetic disease and cannabis could be the only option to ease her suffering.

Zali was diagnosed with Aicardi syndrome, where a part of the brain is missing, resulting in frequent seizures. Ms White says a cannabis strain in the US, known as Charlotte's Web, is being used to treat children suffering from epilepsy and seizures.

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THE Derwent Valley Council will seek a meeting with farmers to discuss the push to grow medicinal marijuana.

Last week the council gave unanimous support in principle to growing the plant for agricultural, industrial and medicinal purposes.

The disused Hayes Jail Farm will be investigated as a possible location.

A council working party established to look into the issue met for the first time last night and decided to seek a meeting with the Farmers and Graziers Association.

The Huon Valley and Dorset councils have also joined the fight to persuade the State Government to reconsider its opposition to a Tasmanian cannabis industry.

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THE Queensland Premier says he has an open mind about legalising marijuana for medical purposes but will rely on the advice of national health experts.

Medical cannabis could soon be legalised in NSW with senior politicians indicating support, as long as concerns about how it would be regulated are dealt with.

Campbell Newman says any change in Queensland should be made on the basis of advice from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), not NSW.

"I have an open mind on these things," he told reporters yesterday.

"There are so many of our life-saving and pain-alleviating drugs that come from nature, and I see it in that context.

"But I'd be interested in what the NHMRC are saying."

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Libs Soften Stance on Medicinal Cannabis

THE State Government has signalled it could step back from its ban on a medicinal cannabis trial under pressure to grow the hemp industry in Tasmania.

Treasurer and Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein has told councils pushing for the trial that the Government will seriously consider the recommendations of an Upper House committee.

"We're supporting that process and obviously we'll be guided by the response that comes out of that process," Mr Gutwein told the Local Government Association state conference in Hobart.

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Tasmania, Big Supplier to Drug Companies, Faces Changes

Now is the sowing season for opium poppies in the Australian state of Tasmania. Tractors chug up and down paddocks, pulling elaborate machinery that drills pairs of adjacent, miniature holes in the dirt, and then drops a dozen tiny kernels of fertilizer in one of the holes and a tiny poppy seed in the other.

By November, the fields will be carpeted in pink flowers with an occasional splash of white or mauve. Then the flowers will drop away, leaving behind distinctive, cup-shaped pods packed with tiny poppy seeds along with the opium latex that surrounds them. When the latex dries two months later, the pods are harvested and hauled to factories, where machinery separates the seeds and grinds up the rest to extract the valuable narcotic alkaloids.

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THREE Tasmanian councils have joined the fight to establish a medicinal marijuana industry in the state.

The Huon Valley Council yesterday said it had been approached by two Tasmanian companies within 24 hours that were fully funded to build a medicinal cannabis growing and production facility.

General manager Simone Watson will meet Premier Will Hodgman to ask the Government to reconsider its opposition.

The State Government launched a parliamentary inquiry into cannabis for medical purposes earlier this month.

"Let's wait to see what comes out of that," Attorney-General Vanessa Goodwin said yesterday.

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Now in her late 20s, Jessica has smoked cannabis since she was 19, describing it as a "creative drug" and a mind-opening experience. She strongly favours legalisation of the drug but rarely consumes it these days.

"I only smoke a little now because I discovered I have a heart condition and I tend to get heart pains when I smoke too much," she says.

Jessica, who asks that her last name not be disclosed, is one of 16 long-term cannabis users whose portraits feature in an exhibition at a Sydney gallery next month.

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DRUG problems have reached "epidemic" proportions on Palm Island say residents, who have called for permanent sniffer dogs.

The community's drug use has reportedly increased since the Alcohol Management Plan was introduced in 2006 because the illegal substances are easier to smuggle in.

Mayor Alf Lacey said he supported the call for drug dogs if that was what the community wanted.

Member for Townsville John Hathaway said he was also happy to work with the Palm Island community, but that it was an "operational" matter.

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Australia Comes Top of Global List for Recreational Drug Use

AUSTRALIA has hit a new low by getting high, with revelations our nation can claim an unenviable gold medal for recreational drug users. The United Nations 2014 World Drug Report has found Australia ranks first in ecstasy use, second for opioids, third for methamphetamines, fourth for cocaine and seventh for cannabis - with experts warning our drug use is rising. AUSTRALIA, a country of sports champions, innovators ... and drug takers.

The nation has the inglorious distinction of having the highest proportion of recreational drug users in the world - an embarrassing new low, albeit from getting high.

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