NSW to Conduct Clinical Trial for Medical Cannabis

The New South Wales (NSW) government in Australia has decided to sponsor a clinical trial of cannabis for people suffering from terminal illnesses.

Terminally ill patients will soon be able to use cannabis without fear of being prosecuted, as the government moves closer to legalizing the drug for medical purposes.

The government’s decision is likely to formalize a protocol which allows police not to take action to the use of cannabis by patients in their last days of life. NSW Premier Mike Baird, who made the announcement today, has asked a working group to report on this matter by the end of 2014, and come up with a plan to ensure that these patients can obtain the drug, or products derived from it.

Baird said that the move formalized what police were already doing.

According to Baird, the clinical trial would explore the role of cannabis in providing relief for patients suffering from various debilitating or terminal illnesses, to enhance the understanding of its medical use.

The issue gained momentum earlier this year when Nationals MP Kevin Anderson said that he would introduce a private member’s bill to legalize cannabis for medical purposes. Baird told Parliament he was touched by the story of terminally ill Daniel Haslam, a 24-year-old diagnosed with bowel cancer.

Haslam’s mother Lucy has been leading a campaign to legalize medical cannabis for her son, who found that cannabis offered some relief to the severe side effects associated with chemotherapy.

Under Mr. Anderson’s proposal, those living with a terminal illness would be issued with a special license and allowed to have 15 grams or less of dry cannabis.

NSW Opposition leader John Robertson said if the government did not support a medical cannabis bill, Labor would take its own policy to the March state election.

Several international regions have legalized cannabis for medical purposes, including 23 states in the US, the Netherlands, Canada and Israel.