Brett Whiteley (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure tonight to be in this chamber to speak about the Narcotic Drugs Amendment Bill 2016—a bill that will enable the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes while still being compliant with Australia's international obligations.

The aim of this legislation is to allow Australian patients and their doctors to have access to a safe, legal and reliable supply of cannabis for the management of chronic and painful conditions. This legislation addresses the issue of the supply of medicinal cannabis in the marketplace. Currently, there are reports of people with chronic or painful conditions going to black market suppliers, risking both their health and criminal prosecutions. With the cultivation of cannabis currently disallowed in Australia, the demand is far outstripping supply.

Cannabis is not like many other products that can be readily and easily imported. Cannabis cultivation is subject to strict international controls and supplies for medicinal purposes are incredibly limited as well as expensive. As a result, this legislation aims to create the opportunity to cultivate cannabis in Australia for people living here who need access to medicinal cannabis. The drug will be available as prescribed by a doctor or as a part of a clinical trial. Let me repeat that: the drug will only be available as prescribed by a doctor or as a part of a clinical trial.

It is important to note that cannabis use for recreational purposes is illegal in Australia and will continue to be illegal under this legislation. The cultivation of cannabis for recreational purposes will also continue to be illegal. Australia has shown that it is able to cultivate narcotics for legitimate and medicinal purposes safely. This has been evidenced in the success of the poppy industry in Tasmania, with Australia being the world's largest supplier of painkillers derived from poppies.

This bill does not add cannabis to the therapeutic goods register, nor will this legislation make it available over the counter. Cannabis will not become a medicine that is available like paracetamol at the local chemist. It will still be tightly controlled, and those looking to use it for recreational purposes will not have access to the plant or its derivatives. The Turnbull government recognises that cannabis, whilst an illicit substance in most circumstances, does have medical benefits when used and prescribed carefully and correctly. This legislation is about minimising the harm for those who rely on cannabis for medicinal purposes but obviously cannot purchase the drug due to its legal status.

By allowing cannabis for medicinal purposes to be grown in Australia, the need to source black market products, to cultivate plants for personal use or to be a blatant abuser of the law will no longer be present. Instead a safe, legal, regulated supply will be available to those who have a genuine medical condition which can be managed with cannabis. I anticipate that this legislation will be of enormous benefit to a small but worthy number of people in my electorate.

I want to inform the House of some of the people in my electorate who this legislation may make a difference to. One woman in my electorate, Natalie Daley, has been in the local paper numerous times for her advocacy in relation to the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. Mrs Daley, who lives with an adrenal gland carcinoma, a rare cancer of the adrenal glands, uses cannabis oil to help manage the symptoms of cancer and the chemotherapy treatment. Mrs Daley credits cannabis oil with relieving the symptoms of her treatment and in helping her gain weight. She has also said that it helped in reducing her nauseous feelings, made her able to eat and sleep, and improved her overall quality of life. Mrs Daley said: 'without this oil I would honestly be bedridden'.

Cannabis oil has also helped some of the youngest people in my electorate. April Tognoni, a little girl who suffers from myoclonic epilepsy, has been given cannabis oil by her parents and it has helped enormously in managing her condition. Myoclonic epilepsy is an incurable illness, and prior to using cannabis oil April was having about 1,000 seizures per day. By taking the cannabis oil every day, the seizures have reduced to as few as six per day. This has changed April's life and she has started to reach the development milestones of other children her age. For small children, where chronic conditions can delay their development and put them behind their peers well into adult life, the impacts of remedies like cannabis oil are significant. And I would not for a moment want to underestimate that.

As well as these two personal stories I have told you, I have heard of a number of elderly constituents in the community who suffer chronic pain and would potentially benefit from controlled use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. The problem is that these people are not willing to break the law to relieve their pain, and due to a lack of legal supply they are unable to get access to the drug, even with the support of their GPs.

In telling these stories from my electorate I must be clear that this bill does not do a number of things. It does not add cannabis to the therapeutic goods register, making it easily accessible for medicinal purposes by the wider population. Cannabis is and will still be a prohibited drug for recreational purposes. This legislation simply addresses the supply issue that is faced by those who wish to use cannabis for medical trials or for an approved medicinal purpose.

Cannabis will continue to be a very strictly controlled drug with very limited access. It will only be available when prescribed by a doctor or as part of a clinical trial. The Commonwealth government will work closely with state and territory governments on developing mechanisms to enable access to therapeutic cannabis products. There is already individual patient access available through the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 under the special access and authorised prescriber schemes, with proper medical supervision. This bill does not mean that anyone who suffers chronic pain or other conditions that cannabis has been used to treat will have access to the drug overnight. What this bill does is make cultivation of the plant legal in Australia for medicinal and scientific purposes.

I am sure there are those in the community who believe this is insufficient law reform, or that cannabis needs to be more accessible for medicinal purposes. I acknowledge that cannabis has many benefits in medicine and that access to medicinal cannabis under strict medical prescription and guidance for those it can genuinely help is something to be pursued in the future. However, in doing so we need to ensure it has had thorough clinical trials and that it is backed by science first. Otherwise, we just may create more harm than we seek to remedy in the first place.

In an extended interview with my local newspaper back in 2014, I was asked about my views on medicinal cannabis. This is what I said:

It's hard not to be moved on this by the stories I'm reading …

My view in life, from my Christian perspective, God makes every plant and it's like life, we make choices with what we do with things …

We can do … things that are good and we can do things with stuff that are evil.

I'm keeping a very open mind on this.

I am concerned about the control measures, but I don't think we should let that stand in the way of a good community discussion.

Those words from me were from 18 months ago. I can say tonight that I am convinced that the appropriate mechanisms are in place through this legislation. This legislation is a strong step towards exploring how cannabis can be safely used for medicinal purposes. I strongly support it and encourage all members of parliament to do so as well. I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context