Transcript Medicinal Cannabis

Medicinal Cannabis
7th Annual ACT ATOD Conference
24 September 2014
National Portrait Gallery
Dr Alex Wodak AM
[email protected]
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Topics:
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Medicinal cannabis: current status
Medicinal vs. recreational cannabis
6 medicinal cannabis myths
Cannabis drug law reform
Is medicinal cannabis the thin edge of the
wedge?
• Do we need to consider them together?
• What can we learn from others?
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Medicinal cannabis: current status:
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‘Whether’ question now decided
Remaining questions: How? When?
Used clinically or another trial? – a false choice
Likely early conditions will be too limited: debate will
continue for many more years
• ‘It is beyond my comprehension that any humane
person would withhold such a beneficial substance
[cannabis] from people in great need simply because
others use it for different purposes’
Stephen Jay Gould
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6 medicinal cannabis myths:
1 Evidence for effectiveness is weak: > 100 RCTs
2 Conventional medicines always work
3 Medicinal cannabis too dangerous: SZ is a
major risk
4 Medicinal cannabis increases use of
recreational cannabis
5 Only way to ingest cannabis is by smoking
6 Pharmaceutical cannabis is a better alternative
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Medicinal and recreational cannabis:
• Best thought of separately: medicines,
recreational drugs regulated very differently
• No medicinal cannabis because fear
undermine prohibition recreational cannabis
• 1961 Single Convention prohibits recreational
cannabis; guarantees medical, scientific use
• Where is Goldilocks? Benefits regulating
medicinal cannabis lost if too rigid or too
loose
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Cannabis drug law reform:
Obstacles to medicinal cannabis
• Political
– Strong, growing community support
– Now discussed in all 9 jurisdictions
– Abbott, Baird statements end the debate
• Supply
– Import?
– Domestic
• Department of Health supply?
• Need commercial supplier – TasCann?
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Obstacles to medicinal cannabis:
• Regulation
– Need TGA approval
– Requires application
– Costly
– Establish ‘Office of Medicinal Cannabis’?
• Set minimum standards for MC
• Ensure that MC supplied meets these standards
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Cannabis drug law reform:
Recreational cannabis
• Prohibition hasn’t & won’t work: PM 29.04.14
• Laws unenforceable: still readily available (91%,
84% IDRS ‘easy/very easy’); waste government
resources; serious unintended negative
consequences only partially effective prohibition
• Now models - tax, regulation: CO, WA, Uruguay
• Increasing community support reform US:
Gallup 12% 1969, to 58% 2013
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Recreational cannabis law reform:
• Raise thresholds and
• Reduce severity punishment: move from
criminal to civil to taxed & regulated
• Evolution not revolution
• Regulated cannabis will have to always
compete with domestic unregulated
cultivation: contemporary reality
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Is medicinal cannabis the thin edge of
the wedge?
• Yes
• But worthwhile in itself even if were to
strengthen prohibition cannabis
• Which it won’t
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Consider them together?
• No
• Regulate medicinal cannabis like other
medicines
• Regulate recreational cannabis like alcohol,
tobacco but learn lessons:
– Age controls
– Mandate package labeling – health warnings;
help seeking & consumer information
– Ban advertising, donations political parties
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What can we learn from others?
Medicinal cannabis
• 20 countries now provide
• Including 23/50 states (+ Washington DC)
USA
• 11 states by Ballot Initiative, looser controls
• Many different models
• High quality botanical leaf cannabis possible
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What can we learn from others?
Recreational cannabis
• International move towards reform
• Tax, regulate CO, WA 55% votes, started 2014
• Uruguay starts legalised supply 2014/15
• Main saving reform from reduced law
enforcement costs
• Revenue likely small
• Sky didn’t/won’t fall in, will spread
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Conclusions:
• Global drug prohibition reached ‘use by’ date,
now slowly unraveling
• Major reason we don’t have medicinal cannabis:
seen to undermine prohibition rec cannabis
• Battle get reasonable conditions MC many years
• Medicinal cannabis challenge to regulation: 20
other countries worked through this
• Tax, regulation recreational cannabis now
unstoppable but will take a long time
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