The medical marijuana revolution continues to inch closer to home, with Queensland the latest region to introduce positive changes to its cannabis laws. On Wednesday night, State Parliament unanimously passed the 152-page Public Health (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill 2016, which gives eligible patients throughout Queensland legal, safe and regulated access to a range of medical marijuana products. The law marks a key victory for medical cannabis supporters in Australia and around the world.
The new Queensland medical cannabis laws in a nutshell
Described as “ground breaking” by Health Minister Cameron Dick, Queensland’s new medical marijuana laws provide a strong regulatory framework that allows for medicinal cannabis prescriptions while at the same time minimising the risk of recreational use and abuse.
"This bill will change the paradigm for seriously ill patients who often feel compelled to seek out illicit cannabis treatment options," said Mr Dick, as quoted by news.com.au.
Certain medical experts such as paediatric neurologists, oncologists and palliative care specialists will gain the power to prescribe medical marijuana when the law goes into effect in March 2017. However, it’s not just these niche specialists who will have this authority. Other healthcare professionals, including general practitioners, will be able to apply to Queensland’s Department of Health for a prescription license, boosting accessibility across the board.
How will Queensland’s new laws benefit patients?
Medical cannabis has a broad range of applications and can be used to treat or reduce the severity of symptoms of many different types of physical and mental conditions. With this in mind, perhaps it isn’t too surprising that some estimate that the new law could improve the quality of life for thousands of people living in the state.
As news.com.au reported, health spokesman for the Liberal National Party (LNP) John-Paul Langbroek explained that Queensland was home to almost one million cancer treatment sessions per year, as well as a large number of people living with multiple scleorisis, patients with severe pain from HIV AIDS, and a few cases of life-threatening childhood epilepsy patients - all of whom stand to benefit greatly from access to medicinal marijuana.
While many jurisdictions impose age restrictions (typically 18 or 21) on medical cannabis prescriptions, the Queensland government has chosen to eschew this concept entirely. Children, teenagers and adults alike are all eligible. What’s the reasoning behind this? Interestingly, it seem as though a significant part of this decision is the result of anecdotal evidence.
"My Government has been moved by the stories of families with young children with epilepsy, suffering life-threatening seizures, and what they have to go through on a daily basis," commented Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, as quoted by ABC News.
LNP spokesman Steve Dixon echoed this sentiment, referring in particular to Jai Whitelaw, an 11-year-old Brisbane boy whose epileptic fits were all but cured by medicinal cannabis. You can get more insight into the Whitelaws’ extraordinary story in the YouTube video below:
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Where’s the cannabis going to come from?
Those who were campaigning for medical marijuana law reforms have celebrated the changes, but the new legislation is not without its critics. Michael Cope, president of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, spoke out against the government’s reluctance to establish an in-state supply system.
"The legislation will be of no benefit to the thousands of suffering Queenslanders who need medicinal cannabis unless steps are taken to secure a supply," commented Mr Cope.
Inadequate supply could potentially encourage patients to procure their medicine from the unregulated black market, and it also means that the state is missing out on a significant source of revenue.
The economic potential of cultivating cannabis might have gone over the heads of those in government, but it’s certainly caught the attention of entrepreneurs in the private sphere. As Chinchilla News reported, companies such as Medifarm have been poised and waiting for months for the opportunity to begin growing and manufacturing cannabis products, and it seems likely that the industry will prove to be an economic boon to the region.
"From November 1 we can have the licenses (to grow the product)," explained Medifarm CEO and Founder Adam Benjamin.
"We have Federal support from Senator James McGrath, (federal MPs) Ted O'Brien and Andrew Wallace, and (Senator) Pauline Hanson.
"This is an amazing opportunity for Queensland, which already has the natural advantage in agriculture.”
All in all, it’s been an exciting week for medical marijuana supporters. Big changes in cannabis policy have taken place in the UK and Australia, with Queensland now boasting the most liberal medical marijuana laws in Australasia. It’s inevitable that the shift in global perception of cannabis is going to force the hands of policy makers here in New Zealand - we can only hope that the reforms come sooner rather than later.