2021-03-25
I rise to speak on the Narcotic Drugs Amendment (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill 2021. The Greens were part of the push in this place to start treating medicinal cannabis as a therapeutic drug. We worked together with other MPs across party lines—and I want to pay tribute here to our former leader, Richard Di Natale—because we know that medicinal cannabis is an important drug. It's an important drug that is used to treat or alleviate many health conditions, including, as has been mentioned, epilepsy in children and adults, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, chemotherapy induced nausea and, of course, palliative care. We knew that Australia needed to make this drug available as a therapeutic drug.
Despite the steps that have been taken by the government and despite the limited amendments that have been put in this bill, most Australians who need medicinal cannabis still have no real way to access it. There is still a big black market in medicinal cannabis because the government has not taken the necessary steps to make it fully available and treat it as a legitimate therapeutic drug. The Greens will support this bill because it goes some small way to implementing a number of the recommendations from the review of the medicinal cannabis scheme that was undertaken by Professor John McMillan in 2019. But what the government has failed to address is the spotlight that has been shone on the government's current scheme by this parliament, which has suggested a number of very clear reforms that the government is refusing to implement.
The Senate Community Affairs Committee's inquiry into the current barriers to patient access to medicinal cannabis in Australia reported in March last year, almost a year ago. During that inquiry the parliament heard from patients across the country who are unable to access the medicinal cannabis treatments they need due to regulatory barriers and enormous cost. Cost is a hugely prohibitive factor for patients needing access to medicinal cannabis; they just can't afford it. Although the government has said, 'Look, we accept that it has therapeutic benefits and we will allow it to be placed on the register,' the cost is still so high that the people who need it just can't get it. It is completely unacceptable that people can be out of pocket thousands of dollars when trying to access legal medicinal cannabis products through a regulated system when the black market is far cheaper. Imagine if this were being done with respect to any other drug that the government had approved—a different drug that treats cancer or some other condition. If the government deliberately kept the cost of that drug so high, knowing that people would instead go onto the black market, there would be outrage. It would be a scandal. But that's what they're doing with medicinal cannabis.
The complexities in the system mean that, as the Senate committee heard, doctors are turning patients away because of the complexities of prescribing medicinal cannabis and their lack of knowledge. The parliament was told that last year when the Senate inquiry reported, but nothing has progressed to improve patient access to medicinal cannabis since the Senate inquiry reported. Despite it being almost 12 months, we still haven't seen the government's response to the report. The government hasn't even responded to that report. The committee said 12 months ago, 'The situation is so dire that, if it doesn't improve enough in 12 months, the government should consider establishing an independent regulator of medicinal cannabis.'
So we have the experts, the public and the majority of the Senate committee itself saying: 'We need to take action. We need to set up an independent regulator if you don't improve access. It is too expensive. It is too complex. People aren't getting these drugs that you've supposedly given the tick to but are basically keeping in a locked box so that people have no option other than to go onto the black market.' The government have been told, 'You need to fix the problem,' and they're not doing it. As a result, people are suffering. The system at the moment is broken, and it's the patients who are paying the price.
If medicinal cannabis works, as the government has admitted it does, it should make it available to people. You can't say, 'Yes, we accept that it works,' and then force people to spend thousands of dollars or go onto the black market. I repeat: imagine if you were doing that with any other drug that addressed cancer—if you said, 'We know this drug works, but we're going to force you to go onto the black market by keeping the price high and the system so complex.' That is what the government is doing, and it is causing pain. It is causing unnecessary pain.
We'll speak further on this when this bill reaches the Senate. Our health spokesperson, Senator Siewert, will address this in more detail. But one thing is crystal clear: although this bill could be supported for going some small way, what the government really needs to do is implement all of the recommendations of the Senate inquiry. Then we will ensure that everyone in this country has access to the medicinal cannabis that they need and doesn't have to go onto the black market.