National marijuana plan
October 19, 2015
Health minister Sussan Ley has
announced that the government
is drafting amendments to the
Narcotics Drugs Act 1967 which
would allow the controlled
cultivation of cannabis for medicinal
and scientific purposes in Australia.
A proposed Commonwealth
licensing scheme would
be implemented within the
Department of Health, in order to
ensure cultivation meets Australia’s
international obligations.
She said the move would provide
the ‘missing piece’ to ensure a
sustainable supply of safe medicinal
cannabis for Australian patients.
“It will also allow the government
to closely manage the supply of
medicinal cannabis products from
‘farm to pharmacy,’” she said, in
conjunction with necessary state or
territory regulations.
The move follows the recent
announcement of a cannabis
cultivation plan in Vic (PD 07 Oct
15) as well as clinical trials on
medicinal cannabis being conducted
in NSW under the auspices of a
state government-backed cannabis
regulation agency (PD 28 Jul 15).
Ley said manufacture and supply
of medicinal cannabis-based
products can currently be done
under existing systems, there is no
mechanism to allow the production
of a safe, legal and sustainable
local supply which has created
difficulties for patients, researchers
and manufacturers.
The proposed amendments are
planned to come before parliament
before the end of the year.
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