Thursday, 9 March 2023

Medicinal cannabis

Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:48): It was such a pleasure to attend the Medican conference in Nimbin at the end of February and hear from ex-magistrate and now dean of law at Southern Cross University David Heilpern on his hopes to change the roadside saliva-testing rules nationwide. As we saw in this chamber yesterday, attitudes are changing quickly, and David is a leader in this field. We heard from Debbie Ranson, a nurse practitioner from a cannabis clinic in Brisbane on her wealth of experience. We heard from Dr Ben Jansen, a cannabis-prescribing doctor, and Des Harp, a professional compounding chemist and leader in supplying customised medicine, amongst others. It was a truly educative experience to hear from these experts in this important and emerging medicine. I extend my thanks and congratulations to the organisers, the Hemp Embassy, and a special thanks to Michael Balderstone for his tireless advocacy in this field.