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Australia Passes Historic Medical Cannabis Law
Australia has joined the club of countries that allow medical cannabis. In a legislative push that took just eight weeks, the Australian Parliament last month amended the
Narcotic Drugs Act to allow medical cannabis to be legally cultivated and distributed through pharmacies.
"This is 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,"
Minister for Health Sussan Ley said in a statement.
Lawmakers noted that the law was changed on the first anniversary of the death of 25-year-old
Daniel Haslam, who used medical cannabis to manage the symptoms of bowel cancer. Haslam’s mother, Lucy, had petitioned the government to make his medicine legal and formed the advocacy group
United in Compassion.
"It is incredibly fitting that today we are passing this bill which is one step towards making medicinal cannabis accessible to people like Dan," Sen. Richard Di Natale said on the floor of Parliament. "Thank you to Lucy for everything you have done. Please know that your family's grief, pain and suffering has not been in vain and this is a legacy that Dan will leave here in Parliament."
Australian officials must still devise regulations and issue licenses before patients get access, a process that is expected to take at least six months. How those licenses will be defined remains unknown, but separate licenses for research cultivation and medical cultivation and distribution are likely.
The amendment calls for “a medicinal formulation of cannabis” to be identified, which is underway at the
University of Sydney, thanks to a $24 million donation for studies on treating severe epilepsy, palliative pain, and nausea associated with chemotherapy.
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fucking bullshit. I knew i should have set up wire mesh.
