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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Australia: Time for new drugs debate
Herald Sun Tuesday 26 Aug 2014 Whoever made the complaint to police that forced them to act has unwittingly made the medicinal use of cannabis, medical marijuana as it has become known, a political as well as a health issue. Sadly, three-year-old Cooper Wallace, who has severe brain damage, epilepsy and other significant health problems following bacterial meningitis, is the innocent victim of a ban on the use of cannabis oil. Seizures that were mostly prevented by the oil have now returned, says his mother, causing Cooper severe distress. The illegal oil, she says, was keeping him alive. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay says police do not want to be involved, but were forced to act although no charges have been laid. Mr Lay hopes there will be “a medical solution’’ and that there are “ways and means’’ in which cannabis can be administered. But this is not only a medical issue, now is it a law-and-order issue. It has now become an urgent humanitarian and political issue. The politics surrounding it are making it more difficult to resolve. With an election only three months away, Opposition Lead Daniel Andrews has announced his intention to legalise medical marijuana. The Coalition in its response to the Herald Sun report, says more medical evidence is needed before any decision can be made. We would point out that what is likely to be an issue in the run-up to the election is not about cannabis or marijuana being legalised for recreational use and being misused by teenagers running a risk of being introduced to harder drugs. Medical marijuana has been legalised in more than 20 US states and several countries, including Canada, Israel, the Netherlands and Sweden. Its use in Australia is approved by the Australian Medical Association, whose Victorian president, Dr Tony Bartone agrees it is effective in treating some forms of pain and muscle spasms. The New South Wales Parliament is expected to allow medicinal use of cannabis by passing legislation this year. What is needed in Victoria is a bipartisan approach to a largely hidden crisis in the lives of many families as parents try to treat sick children, often with medical advice, while they wait in fear for a knock on the door. Police have confiscated the cannabis oil Cassie Batten and Rhett Wallace were using to treat their son. They have been told there will be another knock on their door this week when child protection workers arrive to inspect their home. There are other parents of severely afflicted children who are also using medical marijuana in an effort to improve their children’s lives. What must be done, and it must be done quickly, is for the use of cannabis oil and other derivatives to be assessed in the light of research that has led to its approval in so many other jurisdictions. The Herald Sun is not endorsing the indiscriminate use of marijuana, but this newspaper is concerned there is a proper trial to examine its use under carefully controlled conditions. The relief of pain and discomfort in children and adult sufferers is an obvious priority. The hazards in using such treatment must be part of such a trial. But what must not happen is for the medical use of cannabis to disappear as an issue by referring it to a committee for investigation. The treatment of the seriously ill is paramount and it may be that brave parents are being frustrated in their attempts to help their children by politics as well as the health difficulties they face. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/time-for-new-drugs-debate/story-fni0ffsx-1227036494089
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