Aus - Call to make cannabis legal for everyone

[poledriver]

Call to make cannabis legal for everyone

Senator David Leyonhjelm argues today that we should simply regulate Cannabis for recreational use and save having to setup a regulatory system just for Medical Cannabis.
He says, "Allowing people to have a puff for fun would save the cost of a medical regulatory framework and help raise tax revenue."
What do you think?
He cited the American example where legalised and taxed marijuana revenue raised more money there than tobacco or alcohol taxes.

Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm has called on the government to go further than just legalising cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Health Minister Sussan Ley introduced draft laws to parliament on Wednesday that allows the controlled cultivation of cannabis for medicinal or scientific purposes through a national licensing scheme.

Senator Leyonhjelm says allowing people to have a puff for fun would save the cost of a medical regulatory framework and help raise tax revenue.

He cited the example of Colorado in the US, saying marijuana revenue raised more money there than tobacco or alcohol taxes.

"Nobody has died, the sky hasn't fallen, we are not facing rack and ruin, Sodom and Gomorrah," he told reporters.

The Greens have welcomed the government move, but argue more needs to be done to link those who need it to the cannabis.

"It is no good growing medicinal cannabis if a patient can't get it through a doctor," leader Richard Di Natale said.


Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...nnabis-legal-for-everyone#ysoB4jphvQRpYYfG.99

 

[Mysterie]

i just can't see it happening for another 20 years, would have to be a slow and gradual process. i don't think there is medical anywhere, except maybe victoria for the terminally ill.

i hope that the system can evolve with the current acceleration of the public perception of its stigma, but i can't help doubt it.

 

[poledriver]

It's been in the news all morning in a big way. Not for full recreational use, but for growing the weed here. I'll post a few more articles...

 

[poledriver]

Medicinal cannabis laws to be introduce

Updated: 10:56 am, Wednesday, 10 February 2016

The video selected is not currently available.
Patients suffering chronic and painful illnesses are a step closer to accessing medicinal cannabis.

Legislation allowing the controlled cultivation of the plant for medicinal or scientific purposes through a national scheme will be introduced to parliament by the Turnbull government on Wednesday.

Health Minister Sussan Ley wants the laws passed in this sitting, saying it will open the way for sick Australians to get access to relief.

The government had worked closely with the states and territories, law enforcement agencies and stakeholders over the past eight weeks to ensure a smooth passage through parliament, she said.

"This is an important day for Australia and the many advocates who have fought long and hard to challenge the stigma around medicinal cannabis products," she said.

"For Australia, this is the missing piece in a patient's journey."

There are already laws allowing legal production and distribution of medicinal cannabis, Ms Ley says but Australia doesn't have a safe, legal and reliable supply of locally-grown cannabis.

She said creating one nationally-consistent cultivation scheme, rather than having separate ones in each state and territory, would speed up access to medicinal cannabis.

A national regulator will allow government to monitor medicinal cannabis from cultivation to supply and curtail attempts by criminals to get involved, she said.

- See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/nati...cinal-cannabis-laws.html#sthash.ONFgbHBN.dpuf

 

[poledriver]

ABC News Breakfast-

The Government will introduce legislation today to allow cannabis to be grown in Australia for medical purposes. The proposed changes will pave the way for patients with chronic and painful conditions to access medicinal cannabis. What do you think? Will people try to abuse the system?

 

[poledriver]

The Turnbull government is making medicinal cannabis legal in Australia

The federal government is introducing legislation to parliament to allow the cultivation and use of medicinal cannabis under a national framework today.

The move follows Victoria’s announcement last year that it will legalise the drug for medical use in 2017. NSW is also currently conducting trials into a cannabis-based drug, Epidolex, with a focus on children with epilepsy, and leading the state-based focus on medical marijuana.

The ABC reports that federal health minister Sussan Ley has briefed Labor on the legislation, which will allow cultivation via a national licensing and permit scheme, and believes she has bipartisan support.

The drug will not be decriminalised for general cultivation or recreational use.

Minister Ley is hopeful both houses of parliament will approve the new laws in this session, but told the ABC it was complex legislation that needed to deal with a range of state and territory policies.

“We needed to make sure that we consulted with law enforcement, that we protect the integrity of the system and those who use it, and that we enabled the states to do what many of them are standing by ready to go ahead with,” she said.

Support for the use of medicinal cannabis for chronically and terminally ill patients has been growing in recent years, with NSW premier Mike Baird moved to act by the family of the late Daniel Haslam, who used cannabis to deal with his terminal colo-rectal cancer, despite the fact that his father was a former drug squad policeman.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews made medicinal cannabis an election pledge after meeting young children with severe epilepsy whose symptoms show remarkable improvement from cannabis use.

ASX-listed Medlab Clinical became the first commercial business involved in therapeutic cannabis research last year after being selected by the NSW Government to conduct the research at its Sydney laboratory

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/t...-medicinal-cannabis-legal-in-australia-2016-2

 

[poledriver]

There's about 20 to 50 more articles on it, but you get the idea.

I agree with you though about recreational weed not happening here for quite some time. As soon as the medicinal gets pumped around Australia by licensed growers you can bet that there will be shit loads diverted to the black marked, it will get to a point where the government will have no choice but to legalise it for recreational use, and rightly so imo, it will be long over due and a good thing. Tax wise, jobs wise, stopping the cops going crazy on weed users/growers etc.

I wasn't very enthusiastic that we would see it here in Australia for a very long time but after this mornings news and the reaction from huge amounts of people on FB and twitter calling for it to be legalised totally I can see the movement pushing till it happens. whether that day is in 5, 10 or 20 years or at all, who knows.

 

[Boku_]

What about CBD oil to treat schizo conditions and psychosis? will that be included in the medical treatment laws?

 

[poledriver]

Medicinal cannabis could be grown in Australia under draft legislation

Cannabis could be grown in Australia for medicinal purposes, if draft legislation tabled in parliament today is passed.

Health Minister Sussan Ley called the legislation "the missing piece in a patient's journey", and Labor and the Greens have indicated they will support the laws.

The draft laws would allow the cultivation of cannabis through a national licensing and permit scheme, thereby providing a safe, legal and sustainable supply of locally produced product, Ms Ley said.

"This is an important day for Australia and the many advocates who have fought long and hard to challenge the stigma around medicinal cannabis products," she said.

"Importantly, having a safe, legal and reliable source of products will ensure medical practitioners are now at the centre of the decision making process on whether medicinal cannabis may be beneficial for their patient.

"I sincerely hope the parliament can continue to work together to pass this legislation in a bipartisan fashion as quickly as possible in the interest of Australian patients seeking access to medicinal cannabis."

Research, including findings published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, has suggested that marijuana has some effectiveness in treating chronic pain.

However, there are concerns about side effects, and the issue of whether or not the treatment works remains a matter of debate around the world.

The government envisages that cannabis would only be made available to patients through a doctor's prescription or medical trial.

The legislation did not mean that legal recreational use of the drug was any closer, she said.


Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/health/2016...-cultivation-in-australia#k7vuGzS2j5mOqLII.99

 

[my3rdeye]

The downside to medical cannabis first is all the people who get a medical card are going to try to get out of the taxes when it becomes legal for everyone. The idea it should be grown on farms or industrial facilities only gets shot down by all the people who now have the right to grow it at home. I don't really like medical cannabis because in practice it gets diverted to black market anyway, and the people who know how to manipulate the system get cheap pot. Many of the sickest people end up with no medicine when pretty damn healthy looking 25 year olds are growing whole houses full of it with a get out of jail free card. So many problems are going to come from medical users in Canada when it becomes legal here for everyone. They are already claiming they don't want to pay taxes and want to keep their residential gardens. And they are great at producing people in wheelchairs for the protests. Just make it legal for everyone