Greens Push to Legalise Cannabis
The Greens have highlight the fact that drug prohibition has proven to be a “dismal failure” and are pushing to legalise marijuana across Australia. It is the first party with seats in parliament to call for the legalisation of recreational...
NSW Man Reports Theft of Cannabis to Police
Police in the Northern Rivers on the Far North Coast of NSW are considering whether to press charges against a man who reported his cannabis stash being stolen. Nimbin Police Station took the call from a local man who reported...
Time to Start Over: An Interview With Medicinal Cannabis Pioneer Lucy Haslam
Lucy Haslam has been at the forefront of the movement to re-introduce the use of medicinal cannabis in Australia since 2013. The Tamworth local was instrumental in engaging the support of politicians to a cause that many were sceptical about....
Cannabis Patients Denied Access: An Interview With MCUA President Deb Lynch
The Australian medicinal cannabis quagmire is heavily impacting patients. The whole debate around the medicine has been about how to get a criminalised plant, which is now widely recognised for its beneficial qualities, into the hands of those that need...
‘Game Changing’ Medicinal Cannabis Laws: An Interview with Labor MLC Adam Searle
An Australian politician has finally drafted a law which seeks to provide access to medicinal cannabis and is broad enough to get real product into the hands of patients who desperately need it. Leader of the NSW Opposition in the...
Making GPs Medical Cannabis-Wise: An Interview with Dr David Caldicott
In the mid-90s, Israeli medicinal chemistry professor Raphael Mechoulam discovered the endocannabinoid system. The professor’s earlier research had already led to the 1964 discovery of THC: the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a set of cell receptors, chemical...
Facing Prison for Providing Free Cannabis Medicine: An Interview with Jenny Hallam
The benefits of medicinal cannabis have been rediscovered over recent years. Clinical trials and research papers have documented evidence that shows cannabis medicines can treat conditions, such as chronic pain, seizures in children with Dravet syndrome and multiple sclerosis. In...
The History of Recreational Cannabis in Australia
The recreational use of cannabis in Australia sowed its seeds in Kings Cross in the mid to late 1960s, even though the plant had been outlawed decades earlier. It was introduced into Sydney’s bohemian hub by US servicemen, who were on...
New Zealand’s Progressive Medicinal Cannabis Law: An Interview with Advocate Rebecca Reider
The New Zealand government introduced a bill into federal parliament last week that will establish a local medicinal cannabis industry. NZ health minister David Clark said that cannabis medicines could be available in 24 months if the nation follows Australia’s example. However,...
Medicinal Cannabis Doctor Is Being Held Behind Bars on Remand
The benefits of medicinal cannabis have been widely recognised over recent years. Cannabis medicines have been used to ease the pain associated with chemotherapy, to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis, as well as to reduce seizures in cases of...