What will unrestricted access to Medicinal Cannabis look like in Australia?
A word from Ron Lipsky, Manager of Business Development and International Relations at MGC Pharmaceuticals
Right now in Australia, access to Cannabis-based treatments is heavily restricted. Physicians who want to prescribe Medicinal Cannabis are required to jump through countless regulatory hoops, as are patients seeking treatment. However, we’re proud to report that each year in Australia progress is being made to increase access to Medicinal Cannabis here on our own soil.
In 2016, growing Cannabis for scientific and medicinal purposes was made legal; in 2017, the first Cannabis Research license was issued; and just this year the federal government moved to legalise Medicinal Cannabis exports. Though the regulatory system is providing a number of hurdles for the medicinal movement, progress is certainly being made on the treatment front with more and more medical trials occurring every year. And though the benefits of Medicinal Cannabis are currently being utilised by only a small number of patients, the future’s certainly looking brighter for pain sufferers in Australia.
So, what does the future of unrestricted access to Medicinal Cannabis look like?
Not only would Australia get a large piece of the $55 billion global market thanks to international exports, but Medicinal Cannabis would be accessible to tens of thousands of chronic pain sufferers throughout Australia.
In 2016, we released a white paper in partnership with the University of Sydney that showed, if unrestricted, there would be a demand for roughly 404.7 kg of CBD and 163.7 kg of THC per annum for Epilepsy, MS and HIV/Aids sufferers alone. When calculated according to per-annum consumption in case study countries such as Israel, Canada and the Netherlands, this number ballooned to at least 8,000 kg of cannabis per annum. That’s 30,420 pain sufferers countrywide who would have access to alternate medication.
However, one distinct difference for Australians when compared to other unrestricted countries like the Netherlands is the unlikelihood that recreational Cannabis would be legal here. Currently, no influential figureheads in federal politics have spoken out in support of across the board legalisation. This means that while the future looks brighter for chronic pain sufferers, the same can’t be said for recreational usage.
Australia is a vital player in the global Medicinal Cannabis game. Its future looks rich in Cannabis production, export earnings and chronic pain treatment. In addition, our position of influence with Asia could translate to an opportune gateway for expanding the Cannabis movement throughout the world. As a result, MGC Pharmaceuticals is focused on continually raising awareness of the benefits of such treatment and are dedicated to the continued research and development of Cannabis-derived medical products. The fight for unrestricted access to Medicinal Cannabis is far from over but we’re determined to see it through until the end, for the benefit of the Australian people.
