Barnaby Joyce backflips on medical marijuana

An emotional Barnaby Joyce has been involved in a bizarre confrontation with medical cannabis campaigners in his local electorate.

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An emotional Barnaby Joyce has been involved in a bizarre confrontation with medical cannabis campaigners in his local electorate.

The former deputy Prime Minister was filmed telling campaigners that he “gets furious” at suggestions marijuana offers cancer suffers some “miracle elixir”.

Mr Joyce arrived late to the showing of the High As Mike, a documentary about patients trying to access medical marijuana, at the Capitol Theatre on Thursday evening and said he could not join the panel.

He was invited by the Director of United in Compassion Lucy Haslam, 57, who has known Mr Joyce since she began campaigning for medical cannabis in 2013.

Barnaby Joyce (right) speaking to an audience member at the screening of High As Mike.

On the video he is filmed standing in the aisle emotionally telling the audience: “I was there when my brother died, it kills you. It tears you apart. I don’t want someone saying there is some miracle elixir that we somehow missed. That is not the truth.”

Mr Joyce appeared to be at cross purposes with the audience members who argued that medical cannabis would alleviate symptoms rather than offer a cure.

“If you want to pull a few cones knock yourself out, god knows I did when I was at uni,” Mr Joyce said. “But that does not mean for one second that there is some grand elixir or … that there is some hope that somehow my brother Timothy would be alive if this happened.”

“I get furious with that, unless you show to me that this is the case.”

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Ms Haslam, a retired nurse of 32 years, first met Mr Joyce when she spearheaded a campaign to legalise medical cannabis after discovering the dramatic improvement it had on her son Daniel, who had stage four bowel cancer and died in 2015.

Ms Haslam, who was an Australian of the Year finalist in 2016, started the panel discussion in front of an audience of predominantly sick people over the age of 65.

A Producer for High As Mike, Peter Cross witnessed the clash between Ms Haslam and Mr Joyce after the film and said the politician was “enraged”.

“It was very emotionally charged, very emotional,” he said.

“I actually think Barnaby was dismissive towards that was said to him. Because people were asking him questions and all he kept saying (medicinal cannabis) is not a cure for cancer, which it isn’t.”

Dan Haslam and his wife is Alyce. Dan had stage four bowel cancer and died in 2015.

For organisers and supporters of the event, Mr Joyce’s behaviour and his stance on medical cannabis was a surprise.

In March 2016, wrote a letter to Ms Haslam where he said it was “wonderful to see medical cannabis legislation recently pass through the Federal Parliament”.

“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and commend you upon your tireless efforts to ensure this legislation has been enacted,” he said.

“Your work and advocacy has been truly outstanding and this outcome will be of enormous benefit to many people and their families facing the scourge of cancer and other illnesses for many years to come.”

The pair had previously had a close relationship with Ms Haslam campaigning for Mr Joyce in and appearing in TV ads to promote him.

She told The Daily Telegraph the last time she had spoken to Mr Joyce was when he resigned from being the leader of The Nationals Party in December 2017.

“I last saw Barnaby, prior to last night, was the day after he had resigned as deputy prime minister and he made the comment you and I will be able to spend more time together on this now, I’ll be able to help you far more from the backbench,” she said.

“I’d never heard from him since.”

Lucy Haslam campaigned to legalise medical cannabis after her son Dan died with terminal bowel cancer at 25. Picture: Jonathan Ng

A spokesman for Mr Joyce said the member for New England was “entitled to question the validity of a marijuana and its potential benefits with his cynicism based on wares proffered by snake oil salesmen in the past which promise unreasonable expectations to the vulnerable”.

Mr Joyce said: “I respect that Ms Haslam lost a son, and I lost a brother last year to the same cancer, and I do not believe marijuana oil is some grand elixir which will cure it.”

“All of us have been touched by cancer.”

Mr Joyce said he drove 200km to watch the film.

“I made every effort to be there even though I had close family in hospital.”

“Ms Haslam made an incorrect public statement that I would appear on a panel after the film. This was in spite of my office explicitly stating that I would not appear on a panel. I am not an expert on marijuana oil.”

The spokesman also denied that Mr Joyce was “enraged”.

“Mr Joyce was not enraged. However he remains cynical of mystic “cures from Nimbin” which some pronounce in pursuit of publicity and profit.”

Originally published as Barnaby Joyce backflips on medical marijuana