The push to legalise the usage of marijuana for medicinal purposes is rapidly gathering steam in all the right places. Following the (rather surprising) announcement from Prime Minister Tony Abbott that he has no issue with the usage of the drug for medical purposes, and the approval of medical testing within certain states, now comes the news that a prominent member of the Federal Senate is preparing to introduce a bill into Parliament that proposes the full legalisation and regulation of marijuana for medical purposes.
Greens senator Richard Di Natale is the one making this latest, and biggest to date, move to get the drug off the prohibited substance lists, by proposing legislation that will make it available as a treatment to patients with chronic pain – that’s chronic pain to be relieved with the chronic.
It’s not a token tokin’ move either. Senator Di Natale – a former GP – just so happens to be the President of the cross-party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy and Law Reform. I.e. The guy knows his shit.
Under the proposed new legislation, the Federal Government would be given complete oversight over the production and distribution of medicinal use cannabis. It would control the licensing of producers, maintain quality control standards, and monitor and regulate the distribution channels; in essence, it mirrors the regulations currently in place for the production of opium poppies.
For it to be fully approved for sale and use in Australia, the Therapeutic Goods Administration needs to sign off on the product, and for that to happen, studies and data must be presented. But that isn’t an insurmountable hurdle, by any stretch of the imagination.
With support for the legalisation of medicinal marijuana quickly gathering steam – particularly from conservative sides of the Parliamentary floor, and from prominent conservative commentators such as Alan Jones – this proposed bill represents a potential final push towards a long overdue outcome.
Soon enough, patients suffering from chronic illness and pain will be able to access the pain relieving gear they need, via a sorely needed legal way to get ripped as fuck.
Remember kids, it’s always 420 somewhere in the world.
Photo: Menahem Kahana via Getty Images.
via SMH.
