Medical cannabis hurdles persist

TASMANIAN Alkaloids will soon move into the research and development phase to investigate the most effective way to grow medicinal cannabis at its Westbury site.

A licence was given to Tasmanian Alkaloids to grow medicinal cannabis in May 2017.

Research and development will take about 12 months before Tasmanian Alkaloids is audited by the Office of Drug Control, which is the final hurdle before production can begin.

Medical cannabis grown by Tasmanian Alkaloids will be used in products to treat the 5 million Australians living with chronic pain, but the legalisation of the export of medicinal cannabis products in February opened up further markets for the partnership.

While this news might be positive for the state’s agricultural industry, the take-up of the drug for the chronically ill has been slow in Tasmania.

It was revealed this week only six people have been able to access the state government’s controlled access scheme, which gives them access to the pain-relieving drug. There are nine people still on the waiting list to gain access to the scheme, nearly a year since it opened. The scheme was officially opened in August 2017.

Greens Franklin MP Rosalie Woodruff said Health Minister Michael Ferguson’s controlled access scheme was “overly bureaucratic, with patients being effectively locked out of access”.