Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today's legislation has been described as a landmark bill and the missing piece for patients and doctors around Australia. Through the Narcotic Drugs Amendment Bill 2016, the Turnbull government is proposing to allow patients and their doctor access to a safe, legal and reliable supply of medicinal cannabis products. I stand today in full support of this legislation, and I commend the Minister for Health and the Turnbull government for their work in helping to make this a reality.

For people like Michael from Calga, in my electorate on the Central Coast, it is a day that he thought would never come. Michael sent me a moving letter about his daughter, Katelyn, who has a genetic fault that is linked to catastrophic epilepsy and uncontrollable seizures. At one stage, Michael said that his daughter was suffering 1,400 seizures a day from the age of six months and was hospitalised nine times in just four months. I am advised that not even the attention of qualified health professionals in Sydney and the Central Coast could help Katelyn recover, with what some described as a one in two chance of dying before she was 18 years of age and a 100 per cent chance of intellectual disability.

When he first approached me—and I met both Michael and Katelyn—Michael pleaded with me to do whatever we could as a government to help save his little girl. He wrote: 'Please help us by doing what needs to be done to give the families of catastrophic epileptics and the terminally ill access to safe, legal and reliable medicinal cannabis.' That struck me as a heartfelt plea from a father about his daughter. I am pleased to say that Michael has found some relief through an arrangement with the New South Wales government, which has set up a register for terminally-ill users of medicinal cannabis. But, in speaking with Michael this week and as this bill comes before the House, he emphasized to me that the federal government needs to take the lead. I am pleased to say that today's legislation is the step forward that could change his and his daughter's situation for the better.

Another family who may benefit from providing safe access to medicinal cannabis is Brendan from Umina Beach. Brendan's teenage daughter has been diagnosed with a rare disorder. When she has an attack arising from this disorder, the pain is so severe that she is hospitalised for weeks. It has been a really difficult journey for them and for their family, and even their experience in obtaining a diagnosis was frustrating, devastating and confusing, all at once. After numerous tests and quite a few hospital visits, Brendan was told that there was nothing wrong with his daughter. A few more visits later and the pain was eventually traced to the gall bladder. They were informed that, if the gall bladder was removed and the pain attacks kept happening, then it was likely to be revealed as a very rare dysfunction known as the sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, more common in women over 40. Sure enough, the gall bladder was removed, but just a couple of months later the attacks returned.

I am told that Brendan's daughter was given 20 different types of medicines, but, according to Brendan and his family, it only made it worse. By this time, of course, Brendan's wife was struggling to hold on to her job because of the frequent hospital visits, and I dare say that this is an all too common occurrence for the many families in this situation. It was also taking an emotional toll on their other daughter, who was impacted every day by seeing her sister in pain. I am advised that the family were told that access to medicinal cannabis may have been beneficial to Brendan's daughter. Brendan told me that they were desperate and begging for help and felt that they were at a dead end. Writing from beside his daughter's hospital bed, Brendan told me, 'At the current moment our lives are ruined, and the only thing that could help is medicinal cannabis oil.' Thanks to this legislation, this may now be possible.

Finally, I would also like to share Clare's story. She is a resident of Davistown. Clare's husband suffered two melanomas. One was very aggressive. Clare said it was a very painful time for him, and, although the heavy pain killers did give him some bearable relief, he was severely nauseated, could not eat and was having nightmares, all because of the medicine. He died in January 2000. Only after this terrible and devastating loss did Clare find that medicinal cannabis may have actually been able to help her husband through this awful time. She told me she would have accessed it at the time if she could, but of course it just was not possible.

Thanks to this legislation, we have a positive story to tell Michael, Brendan and Clare and many other families and residents on the Central Coast and indeed around our nation. But, before I go on, it is also fair to say that what we are debating today has been contentious, at times misunderstood, and described by critics as part of a slippery slope to the decriminalization of drugs. It is a discussion that we need to have, but I believe that this is a separate debate. What we have in this legislation is a potential solution to assist people in painful and chronic situations who are being denied access to potentially legal drugs that could provide significant help. Doctors are at the centre of the decision-making process, which is strictly controlled. This legislation opens the way for patients who need it most, as I have outlined in these three real-life stories, and helps them to be able to get access to the help they need: medical relief as determined by medical practitioners.

Part of making today possible has been the process undertaken by the Turnbull government in working closely with states and territories, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders in recent months. I understand that the priority was to ensure that this legislation was robust before bringing it to the parliament and to seek to eliminate any potential for criminal involvement. Part of this involves establishing a safe, legal and reliable supply of locally grown cannabis so the drugs can be manufactured to help patients who need them.

The solution outlined in this bill is a single nationally consistent cultivation scheme that meets all of our national and international obligations. Indeed, Australia is a signatory to a global convention which requires that production, manufacture, export, import, distribution, trade and possession of narcotic drugs such as cannabis is restricted exclusively to medical and scientific purposes. In many cases the long-term evidence is not yet complete about the ongoing use of various medicinal cannabis products—which we heard earlier this evening—which means that the central role of medical professionals is to monitor and authorise its use, and this is so important. I am advised that this set-up will allow the government to closely track the development of cannabis products for medicinal use, all the way from cultivation to supply.

I believe that this bill goes a long way towards assuring people in my electorate of Robertson about the importance of making medicinal cannabis available in an appropriate, legal and regulated way. It is bold, groundbreaking and essential policy, and I commend this bill to the House.

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