Medical Marijuana Regulator to be Established

You may have heard about the national push to legalise medical marijuana, with clinical trials expected to begin next year. Even our conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott supports the trials, acknowledging that marijuana may assist in the treatment of certain medical conditions.

Now, the campaign has taken a major leap forward, with Parliament considering a Bill that would establish a national Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis.

If passed, the Bill will establish a Commonwealth body to develop ‘rules for licensing the production, manufacture, supply, use, experimental use and import and export of medicinal cannabis.’

The Bill was introduced last year by Greens leader Richard di Natale last year, who is a former general practitioner with experience the drug and alcohol sector. Dr di Natale says that the Bill offers Parliament ‘an opportunity to relieve the pain and suffering of many Australians.’

Lucy Haslam has also endorsed the Bill. Mrs Haslam is the mother of cannabis campaigner Dan Haslam, who sadly passed away from bowel cancer earlier this year.

Bill Receives Endorsement

After months in the works, the Bill was finally endorsed by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee last week.

The Committee released a report on the 11th of August, along with a series of recommendations, including:

1. Establishing mechanisms by which scientific evidence about medicinal cannabis products can be assessed to determine their suitability in treating certain medical conditions;

2. Addressing issues about the interaction of the Bill with other legislation such as the Therapeutic Goods Act and Narcotics Drugs Act;

3. Making sure that the Bill complies with international drug conventions;

4. Ensuring that the Commonwealth consults with state and territory governments to ensure ‘a consistent approach to accessing medicinal cannabis.’

The Committee has endorsed the passing of the Bill provided that the recommendations are adopted.

About The Bill

Besides being given vast powers to write the rulebook when it comes to medical marijuana, the Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis will:

‘enter into contracts with medicinal licence holders, supply medicinal cannabis products, investigate whether the Act or the rules are being complied with, advise the Minister on matters relating to medicinal or experimental cannabis products, analyse statistics relating to medicinal cannabis products, and educate patients and health workers about the use of regulated medicinal cannabis products.’

One of its duties will be to maintain a register of cannabis-related products which have been approved for medicinal purposes. This will allow the government to oversee a licensing scheme – similar to current liquor licensing rules – and issue medicinal cannabis licences to companies that produce products which have met appropriate standards for medicinal use. These licenses will be subject to strict conditions.

This means that approved medicinal cannabis products will not be governed by the stringent regulations imposed by the Therapeutic Goods Act, which applies to all other pharmaceutical drugs. It will, however, operate alongside the regulations of the Narcotic Goods Act, which allows for the cultivation and production of illicit drugs in certain situations.

In addition to this, the Bill contains several rules which govern how patients will be able to access medicinal cannabis. According to the Explanatory Memorandum, medical practitioners will be able to apply to the Regulator on behalf of a patient or carer who wishes to obtain a prescription for medical cannabis.

Where To From Here?

If the Bill is passed, it could also pave the way for further research into the benefits of medicinal marijuana.

This is because it allows the Regulator to issue experimental cannabis licences, which will allow ‘authorised persons to develop, evaluate, test and improve cannabis products for medicinal purposes.’

As the Bill is a piece of Commonwealth legislation, state and territory governments will need to amend their own laws so that they are consistent with it.