Legalise Cannabis New South Wales MP Jeremy Buckingham has addressed the Upper House, announcing his intention to introduce a motion calling on regulators to abandon their "punitive" stance toward medicinal cannabis prescribers.
In a notice of motion that passed on October 16, Buckingham indicated that on the next sitting day he would ask the House to recognise that "an increasing number of medical practitioners in New South Wales are being reprimanded, investigated, or punished by the Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) and the Medical Practitioners Board for prescribing medicinal cannabis in accordance with patient needs and established medical guidelines".
The motion will ask the House to acknowledge the "growing body of evidence supporting the therapeutic benefits of medicinal cannabis in treating a range of conditions, including chronic pain, epilepsy, cancer-related symptoms and mental health disorders, and the growing acceptance of its use both in Australia and internationally".
Buckingham will also ask fellow MPs to support a call for the TGA and the Medical Practitioners Board to "reconsider their punitive approach toward medical professionals prescribing cannabis" and to adopt a framework that "encourages responsible prescribing, promotes patient access, and supports the well-being of individuals who benefit from medicinal cannabis".
The motion will further encourage "meaningful dialogue with medical professionals, patients, and advocacy groups to ensure that doctors prescribing medicinal cannabis are protected from undue scrutiny… in their clinical decision-making, provided they act in good faith and within established clinical guidelines".
Buckingham will additionally press for the need to "provide greater clarity and transparency in the regulatory environment surrounding medicinal cannabis in New South Wales, including reforms that would protect practitioners from regulatory overreach, encourage research, and facilitate better patient access to this crucial medicine".
The move follows a crackdown on THC prescribing by the NSW Pharmaceutical Services Unit (PSU).
Buckingham attended a dinner hosted by Medical Cannabis Australia the previous month, at which Dr Sara McDonald, one of the prescribers targeted by the PSU, shared her experience.
