Medicinal cannabis legislation passes Parliament

Member for Durack Melissa Price is pleased to announce Federal Parliament passed historic legislation which delivers the missing piece to legally-grown medicinal cannabis treatment in Australia this week.

Welcoming the historic moment Ms Price, who spoke on the Bill, paid tribute to the many patient advocates in Durack who played a key role in bringing this important issue to the attention of the nation.

“For too long family and friends have advocated to legalise medicinal marijuana for those who need it most – I am very happy for them,” Ms Price 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.