Cannabis Cultivation: An Opportunity for Battling Aussie Farmers?

It’s a tough time for many Aussie farmers: with lands plagued by drought, tough international competition and ongoing price wars between supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths.

But the possibiityof new enterprise has given some farmers fresh hope.

Last week, the Federal Government announced that it would legalise the cutivation of medicinal cannabis; allowing farmers to sow and harvest the hardy crop to aid Australians suffering from chronic health problems.

The proposed scheme

The proposal would involve amending the Commonwealth Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 to allow for the cultivation of cannabis for scientific and medicinal purposes.

Prospective growers would be required to comply with a licensing scheme to ensure that the product and systems meet legal requirements.

The plan has been likened to a current scheme which allows Tasmanian farmers to grow poppies to produce morphine – an industry which generates around $100 million annually for local farmers.

Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman has welcomed the opportunity, saying: ‘We look forward to working with the Federal Government on opportunities for growing medicinal cannabis in Tasmania.’

Health Minister Susan Ley has also welcomed the proposal, saying that the amendments will help those suffering from dehabilitating health conditions. She believes ‘it is important…that we put in place what we know will support a safe, legal and sustainable supply of a product.’

Those who grow cannabis without a valid licence will still face drug charges: in NSW, drug cultivation carries a range of heavy penalties depending on the amount and type of drug cultivated, and the court that the case is heard in.

Farmers express doubts

But some Tasmanian farmers have expressed reservations about the new venture, saying that those who have grown medicinal cannabis overseas maintained small crops of between three and five hectares, and that there is little financial incentive to grow the plant here.

Chief Executive of the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, Peter Skillern, told the media that ‘growing medicinal cannabis is not going to produce a new agricultural product for Tasmania, or Australian farmers for that matter.’

He feels it is unlikely that medicinal marijuana will be used widely enough to require more than one crop. He says that the opportunities for farmers will be further limited by the fact that government scientists and lab technicians are also allowed to grow the plant.

Mr Skillern’s views appear to be supported by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ recent announcement that his government would begin a ‘cannabis cultivation trial’.

Parents may no longer need to break the law

Mr Andrews previously voiced concerns about parents being forced to break the law to source cannabis medications for their children – many of whom are suffering serious illnesses such as cancer and severe epilepsy, and who have shown remarkable improvement whilst using the drug.

Those concerns followed the publication of a report by the Victorian Law Reform Commission, which put forth a series of recommendations about how the current legal and regulatory hurdles could be overcome.

But while an earlier report considered the potential for state-controlled cultivation, the more recent report explored the potential for farmers to apply for a cannabis-growing licence from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

The need for greater access

While many have welcomed the announcements, others say that more needs to be done to improve access to medicinal cannabis.

Among them is Greens Senator Richard de Natale, who says that the cannabis licensing proposal ‘ignores the most important part of the equation and that is making sure that people who need this drug can get access to it.’

He believes that there is a ‘bottleneck in the approval of medicinal cannabis and this legislation does nothing to address that.’

And some parents are concerned that the announcement is a case of too little, too late.

One Tasmanian mother says that her child may have to wait for years to access a legal form of the cannabis tincture that she currently uses illegally to treat epilepsy.

But others disagree: Tasmanian Health Minister Michael Ferguson says that the matter of cannabis cultivation was the most important missing element in the move towards legalisation for medicinal purposes, and is a giant leap forward.

And the Australian Medical Association has emphasised the need to conduct thorough trials before medicinal cannabis hits the shelves.

Ugur Nedim About Ugur Nedim
Ugur Nedim is an Accredited Specialist Criminal Lawyer and Principal at Sydney Criminal Lawyers®, Sydney’s Leading Firm of Criminal & Drug Defence Lawyers.

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