Australian growers will finally be allowed to supply medicinal cannabis products to physicians and pharmacists, after Federal Parliament passed a groundbreaking amendment to drug laws today.
The shake-up to Narcotics Drugs Act 1967 will give local producers an avenue to source and distribute safe, legal and monitored medicinal cannabis products for the first time.
That means patients who may have relied on heavily-monitored imports – or illegally-sourced cannabis – theoretically have an above-board method of accessing local treatments via prescription. It’ll all be kept under the banner of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, and the purview of state and local jurisdictions.
Health Minister Sussan Ley, who’s been involved in the proposal since the get-go, said it’s “an historic day for Australia and the many advocates who have fought long and hard to challenge the stigma around medicinal cannabis products so genuine patients are no longer treated as criminals.”
The missing piece to legally-grown medicinal cannabis treatment in Australia passes the Parliament https://t.co/EUIPgYKTxD #auspol
— Sussan Ley (@sussanley) February 24, 2016
The amendment’s quick turnaround – it was only introduced a fortnight ago – is down to tri-partisan support, with both Labor and the Greens giving the thumbs up.
Good hustle, guys.
Source: The Hon. Sussan Ley.
Photo: John Grein / Getty.
