Last week we were treated to a raft of announcements and some refreshingly nuanced debate as part of Australia's inaugural Medicinal Cannabis Awareness Week (MCAW). An initiative of the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association and United In Compassion, MCAW’s stated purpose was to raise awareness and reduce stigma around medicinal cannabis.?
For Penington Institute, the sustained attention to Australia's cannabis policy was welcome. Cannabis in Australia 2022, our major cannabis study launched in December, addressed many of the topics raised during MCAW; it was both illuminating and encouraging to see how those discussions played out in the public forum.?
With MCAW 2023 now behind us, let's recap some of the big developments:?
- A new Parliamentary Friends of Medicinal Cannabis Group (PFMCG) was formed in Canberra, with 31 MPs signing up. Members include Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney and Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge.?
- Nurse practitioner and medicinal cannabis prescriber Simone O'Brien launched the Australian Cannabis Nurses Association (ACNA). The organisation will address misinformation among healthcare providers by offering cannabis education and support to nurses.?
- MPs David Ettershank and Rachel Payne of Legalise Cannabis Victoria called on all politicians to back the Road Safety Amendment (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill 2023. The bill would amend the current Road Safety Act to protect medicinal cannabis patients from legal penalties when found driving with THC in their system, provided they are not impaired.?
- South Australia introduced the Statutes Amendment (Medicinal Cannabis Defence Bill). This bill seeks to protect medicinal cannabis patients from new legislation that gives police the power to immediately strip motorists of their license following the detection of THC in their system.??
- Also in SA, debate began over a 2022 motion calling for an inquiry into the potential impacts of cannabis legalisation in the state. The Greens amended the motion to focus on medicinal cannabis, arguing that persistent barriers to access make this the greater priority.??
- Dr Brian Walker of the Legalise Cannabis Party in Western Australia queried the Minister for Police over the cost of enforcing cannabis related laws. He cited Penington Institute's Cannabis in Australia 2022 report, in particular the figure of $1.7 billion that was found to have been spent in one year nationwide.?
- The petition to Fix Dan’s Law, which first appeared in 2014 and has amassed over 40,000 signatures, was relaunched. Lucy Haslam of the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association and United In Compassion started the change.org petition with the initial aim of legalising medicinal cannabis in Australia. With that goal realised, the petition is now seeking to make these medicines more accessible and affordable through a compassionate access scheme for patients with serious conditions.?
These weren't the only outcomes of MCAW, but they represent a good cross section of the issues currently generating interest and might be an indicator of where Australian cannabis policy is heading.?
Parliamentary discussions and news reports point to growing awareness of a double standard in how we treat medicinal cannabis versus how we treat other prescription drugs, and many now acknowledge the need to correct this imbalance. Another recurrent theme was the need for improved education on medicinal cannabis, especially in healthcare settings.??
The conversations of the past week may also have implications for Australia's policy approach to non-medicinal cannabis use and perhaps drug use more broadly. While there is little urgency in policymakers' movement toward a regulated adult use market for cannabis, nor is there much hostility of the kind we would have expected to see just a few years ago. We are certainly excited to see where Australia lands by MCAW 2024.?
