Wait goes on for Tasmanians wanting cannabis treatment

TASMANIANS with serious medical conditions wanting to access medicinal cannabis products will have to wait some time yet.

TASMANIANS with serious medical conditions wanting to access medicinal cannabis products will have to wait some time yet, despite the Federal Government announcing changes which will allow legal medicinal marijuana trade.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Wednesday that companies would be permitted to apply to distribute cannabis oils and medications nationally.

Last year, Federal Parliament passed laws to legalise medicinal cannabis use for patients with painful and chronic illnesses.

Those include people with cancer, HIV patients and people with severe epilepsy, motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis, among others. But the rules vary from state to state on approved conditions and ages.

Because there was no legal market in Australia, until this week sufferers were forced to import medicinal cannabis products from overseas or turn to the black market.

Tasmanian Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the State Government was still working on developing its controlled access scheme announced last April.

“The Government is continuing to work closely with senior clinicians on the Tasmanian Controlled Access Scheme, which will be delivered this year — as we always said it would,” Mr Ferguson.

The scheme would allow a medical specialist doctor to be able to seek approval to prescribe a medical cannabis product for a specified medical condition.

The Health and Human Services Department would then establish a panel of clinicians to assess applications.

Greens’ primary industries spokeswoman Andrea Dawkins said the federal change was a step in the right direction, but most Tasmanians who were forced to use illegal methods to use the drug could not risk waiting for the controlled access scheme to be released.

“Those suffering chronic or terminal illnesses, and their families, can’t wait for government access schemes — they either need access now, or protection from the criminal charges,” she said.

“The Federal Government are heading in the right direction, but many patients won’t be able to take advantage because of the affordability and access issues.

“Commercial medicinal cannabis products are often expensive. Sativex, for example, can cost patients up to $1500 a vial.”

Labor senator Lisa Singh, who was part of a Senate inquiry into medicinal cannabis in 2015, called on Premier Will Hodgman to explain when medicinal cannabis would be accessible to Tasmanians and how they will be able to identify an authorised provider.

“People suffering chronic pain should not have to wait this long,” she said.

“Medicinal cannabis can relieve the suffering of people with chronic disease and it should be made available as soon as possible.”

Mr Hunt said his department had written to companies that might be interested in supplying the Australian market with medicinal cannabis products to advise them of the latest arrangements.

“It is expected that within eight weeks, possibly sooner, Australia will have a store of imported medicinal cannabis products, so that approved patients can have greater confidence in the supply arrangements for their doctors,” the minister said.

Too late for Marilyn but the fight goes on

RESEARCH PLEA: Andrew Irving, of Dromedary, with his wife Marilyn . Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

FOR Tasmanian medicinal cannabis advocates Andrew and Marilyn Irving, changes to allow access to products will come too late.

Mrs Irving, 61, who has suffered a neurodegenerative condition since 2012, is receiving palliative care at home after also being diagnosed with a type of blood cancer just three weeks ago.

The couple had to resort to sourcing medicinal cannabis from the black market since 2015.

“She’s a fighter,” said Mr Irving, who also runs the Tasmanian chapter of national group Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp.

“We’ll still keep doing what we’re doing, our work is not done. We don’t do it for Marilyn or for me — we do it for all Australians.”

He said the latest Federal Government announcement was a “minuscule” step in the right direction, but did not change things overnight.

“I still don’t believe Australia is serious about medicinal cannabis. You can pass as many laws as you want about cannabis — it’s not going to take away the stigma attached to it — only education is going to do that,’’ he said.

“It’s a harmless herb, you can’t get high on it, but people still fear it.”

Mr Irving said research trials needed to focus on working out the right ratios of compounds THC and CBD for each ailment.

“With Marilyn’s neurological condition, the high CBD medication was spot on for her and she was making leaps and bounds with it,” he said.

“If we didn’t have this second diagnosis, I think she would have made probably not a full recovery ... but a remarkable recovery.”