The Federal Parliament this week passed historic legislation which delivers the missing piece to legally-grown medicinal cannabis treatment in Australia.
Federal Member for Forde, Bert van Manen MP said welcomed the historic moment and looked forward to informing the many patient advocates in his electorate who played a key role in bringing this important issue to the attention of the nation.
“Legalising medicinal cannabis has been a topic of much discussion during my time in office, particularly for many local residents who are battling various medical conditions,” Mr van Manen said.
“This legislation clears the way for Australia’s State and Territory governments and companies to apply for a license to locally cultivate or manufacture medicinal cannabis products.
“It was always vital we had a clear national licensing system to ensure the integrity of crops for medicinal or scientific purposes, with the new laws enabling the Commonwealth to track the development of medicinal cannabis products from the farm to the pharmacy.”
An independent Advisory Committee will now be established to oversee the next stage of the rollout of a national regulator now legislation has passed.
The legislation does not relate to the decriminalisation of cannabis for general cultivation or recreational use, which remains a law enforcement issue for individual states and territories.
