Queensland Premier set to legalise medicinal marijuana

It is expected that today, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will announce Queensland’s first medicinal marijuana trial, joining the New South Wales government who announced trials last year.

According to the Courier Mail Premier Palaszczuk said she and Premier Baird of New South Wales spoke about the topic at the Council of Australian Government meeting in Canberra on Friday.

“I didn’t want Queensland standing on the sidelines,” Ms Palaszczuk said yesterday.

“I wanted us to be an active participant because I know many Queensland families see real value in this form of treatment.” She said.

While the exact commitment Queensland will make is uncertain, New South Wales is giving $9 million over five years to conduct the New South Wales trials with plans to begin next year.

Premier Palaszczuk has been spending time with families of patients who suffer from illnesses such as terminal cancer and epilepsy and her time with the people that could potentially benefit from the legalisation of medicinal marijuana is believed to have motivated her decisions.

The potential benefits of medicinal marijuana when administered and taken correctly are vast and range from easing depression and anxiety to stoping seizures and treating chronic pain. While nowhere in Australia currently legally produces the substance, mining firm Capital Mining has made a bid to see it produced legally in conjunction with Essential Oils of Tasmania (EOT) across Tasmania.

With another Australian state committing to investigate the real effects of medicinal marijuana use this means that around half of Australia’s entire population could be living where medicinal marijuana is legal.

So tell us today, do you support these trials? Would you like to see it happen across all Australian states?