One Nation's push to dismantle the existing regulatory framework for medicinal cannabis appears headed for defeat after both Labor and the coalition declined to back the proposal.
The party introduced legislation last week that would abolish the Authorised Prescriber and Special Access schemes, replacing them with a system allowing "any medical practitioner" to prescribe the medicine to both humans and animals.
The proposed changes would also open a potential pathway for medicinal cannabis products to receive a listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
During a second reading of the Improving Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2023 yesterday, however, Labor Senator Anne Urquhart informed her colleagues that the government would not be offering its support.
Urquhart said the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had "serious concerns" about the bill and that its likely impact had "not been carefully considered".
She added: "The government considers this proposal to be inappropriate, as the current scheduling of these substances is the result of a long and well-considered process based on clinical evidence and expert advice."
Greens Senators David Shoebridge and Peter Whish-Wilson expressed support for the broader debate, but manager of opposition business in the Senate Anne Ruston confirmed the coalition would side with Labor in voting against the bill in its present form.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson had earlier told the Senate that the surge in medicinal cannabis prescriptions since legalisation demonstrated the medicine had a legitimate place within Australian healthcare.
However, she added: "A system which worked quite well for only a few thousand scripts a year is under strain… Patients have more recently encountered increasing problems with accessing these products, along with other issues like product quality, availability and pricing."
Hanson attributed these difficulties to a recent decline in prescription numbers, arguing that her bill would broaden access, lower costs, and enable low-dose products to be purchased over the counter at pharmacies.
She called for expanded education for GPs and veterinarians on the therapeutic uses of medicinal cannabis, and urged state and territory governments to "have another look at the way they test motorists for intoxication".
She added: "The purpose is to ensure that motorists are not impaired or present a danger to themselves and others on the road.
"This should be based not on a chemistry test but on whether a driver is actually impaired, as it is evident that medicinal cannabis products can result in a positive drug test while not actually impairing the person being treated with them."
She concluded: "With clear evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective in treating a wide range of conditions and… that it is in high demand in Australia, it is time to elevate it as the primary healthcare option it should be."
Responding for the government, Urquhart, who is co-convenor of the Parliamentary Friends of Medicinal Cannabis, said: "I am a supporter of the well-considered use of prescribed medicinal cannabis in appropriate circumstances and have been involved in Senate committee hearings inquiring into this matter.
"I've met and spoken with people who use medicinal cannabis on prescription to treat medical conditions, with positive results.
"This bill has the potential to undo much of the good work that is being done to give those who suffer from medical conditions access [to medicinal cannabis products] by… prescription.
"The scheduling of substances contained in medicinal cannabis products is the result of a very careful and considered assessment of the most appropriate pathways to access… based on available scientific knowledge, input from scheduling committees and expert clinical advice.
"I'm a great believer in science, and we should always look at the science closely.
"The impacts of this bill have not been carefully considered and do not reflect expert clinical views."
Urquhart also disputed One Nation's claim that moving medicinal cannabis from schedule 8 to schedule 4 would allow any medical practitioner to prescribe it.
"This is because Authorised Prescriber Scheme and Special Access Scheme approvals are required for most medicinal cannabis products, as they are not included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.
"To lawfully supply a therapeutic good that is not included in the register, one of the pathways for accessing unapproved goods, such as through the Special Access Scheme, Authorised Prescriber Scheme or Personal Importation Scheme, must be used.
"The rescheduling of the products would not change this in any way."
The debate was adjourned.
