Victoria becomes 1st Australian State to legalize Medical Marijuana

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on April 14, 2016.

In a historic development, Victoria has become the first state in Australia to legalize medical marijuana, allowing people to have the drug safely and securely in exceptional circumstances.

The Victoria government passed the Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2015 in parliament on April 12, which enables to grow, manufacture, supply and access safe and high quality medical marijuana products in the state as early as 2017.

Children suffering severe epilepsy will be among the first to be treated using a range of non-smoking marijuana products including oils, sprays and vaporizers.

“Children with severe epilepsy will now be able to legally access this life-saving treatment from as early as 2017”, Victoria's Health Minister Jill Hennessy said, after the Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill passed Parliament. “It is absolutely heart-breaking to see families having to choose between breaking the law and watching their children suffer – and now, thanks to our ground-breaking legislation, they won’t have to”, she added.

The state government has now decided to establish separate office for medical marijuana in order to oversee manufacturing and all clinical aspects of the marijuana framework.

The office will work with doctors, clinicians and general practitioners to help them understand their role in prescribing medicinal marijuana. It will also educate the patients and families about various aspects of medicinal marijuana use.

The government has also planned to form an independent medical advisory committee to provide advice regarding different prospects of medicinal marijuana.

Medical marijuana is being legalized in some states of the USA, Spain and Israel to treat more than a dozen of health problems, including cancer, epilepsy, chronic pain, AIDs and sickle cell anemia.

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