Should NT adults be able to buy and use weed?

MEDICAL cannabis advocates say they are ‘appalled’ by the ‘out of touch comments’ by Australian Medical Association NT president Dr Rob Parker

AMA NT president Dr Rob Parker is against legalising the drug for adults in the NT to use. PICTURE: ISTOCK

MEDICAL cannabis advocates say they are “appalled” by the “out of touch comments” by Australian Medical Association NT president Dr Rob Parker — who is against legalising the drug for Territorians to use.

Medical Cannabis Users Association of Australia founding member Gail Hester said people would always use cannabis, and making it legal for medical and adult use would help thousands of people.

“If you take a safe drug like cannabis off the street, as has happened in recent times, people will go looking for a ‘replacement’ that has other more sinister implications for the health and safety of themselves and others,” she said.

“If people could grow their own cannabis, they would not be spending their time and money looking for these replacements.

“People will always use cannabis. This will never change.

“It’s been going on for decades despite over 20 years of harm reduction policies pontificating about interrupting supply as a way to stop it.”

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Homeless ‘super centre’ to open in Darwin CBD

Mature aged law student Jaydn Pollard guilty

Territorians drank 1.5 million more drinks in fewer venues than year before

Australian Medical Association NT branch president Rob Parker doesn’t want cannabis to be legalised in the NT. Picture: KERI MEGELUS

Dr Parker said he didn’t support the Medical Cannabis Users Association of NT’s proposal to legalise cannabis for medicinal and recreational adult use in the Territory.

Dr Parker feared if the drug was legalised, there would also be an increase in the number of Territorians presenting to NT EDs with psychotic illnesses due to substance use.

To back up his claim, Dr Parker referenced research from the Colorado Department of Public Safety — which showed in 2000, prior to legalisation in Colorado, there were 575 hospitalisations with possible marijuana indications per 100,000 hospitalisations.

This figure skyrocketed to 803 such hospitalisations per 100,000 in 2001-2009 — and again in 2010-13 in the era of medical marijuana commercialisation, increasing to 1440 per 100,000 hospitalisations.

“Since indigenous Territorians already have two to three times the prevalence of psychotic illness due to substance use compared to other Australians, you may postulate the implications for such a significant increase in severe mental illness affecting Territorians — and its impact on the already overstretched Territory hospital EDs and mental health services — as a result of such a measure,” Dr Parker said.

Minister for Health Natasha Fyles said there were no plans to legalise the drug. PICTURE: KERI MEGELUS

Health Minister and Attorney-General Natasha Fyles said there were “no plans to legalise cannabis for recreational use”. Dr Parker applauded Ms Fyles’ position.

“AMA NT is very supportive of the Minister’s stance,” he said.

However, Ms Hester refuted Dr Parker’s claims.

“These are scare tactics for the uninformed and reinforce the stigma that exists around mental illness,” she said.

“One might even be so bold as to suggest that the prevalence of psychotic illness among indigenous Territorians is actually caused by the prohibition of cannabis.

“If cannabis were legal, perhaps the indigenous communities would not be presenting at this current rate.

“And instead of committing petty crime to try and obtain cannabis, they could put their energy into becoming productive members of society by growing legal cannabis to supply local dispensaries that would be licensed so people would be getting a clean safe supply of locally grown cannabis for social and medical use.

“This could be taxed at a state level and the funds generated used to provide better mental health services for the people of the Territory.

“While the AMA cling onto the reefer madness propaganda and continue to choose mental illness and cannabis psychosis as their trump card, they are a threat to affordable access to cannabis for thousands of suffering patients nation wide.”