 | Australian State To Allow Marijuana For Pain |
 New South Wales, Australia's most populous state plans to allow seriously ill people to use
marijuana as a medicine. New South Wales state premier Bob Carr announced a four-year trial period. He received backing from Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
A NORML PR and stirling work by the NORML media team managed to encourage take up of the story in the NZ media in advance of the the imminent release of the NZ Health Select Committee Inquiry expected to push for allowing doctors to prescribe medical cannabis.
 20/05/03 NORML PR: New South Wales to allow medicinal cannabis
 21/05/03 Australian State To Allow Marijuana For Pain
NORML Cannabis Inquiry Page
New Zealand Herald
Wed, 21 May 2003
Australia's most populous state plans to allow seriously ill people to use
marijuana as a medicine, following trials of the drug as a pain reliever in
several US states, Canada and Europe.
However, a proposal for a four-year trial period by New South Wales state
premier Bob Carr provoked outrage among anti-drug campaigners even though
he vowed to maintain the state's tough stance on recreational use.
"When it comes to marijuana this is not a social revolution," Carr, of the
centre-left Labor party, said on Wednesday.
"This is a method of us doing something compassionate for someone living
with multiple sclerosis or receiving massive chemotherapy treatment."
Under the scheme, expected to be approved and begin by year's end, those
suffering cancer, Aids, multiple sclerosis and other serious illnesses can
register to use marijuana for pain relief. In what form it will be
distributed has to be decided.
Minors and people convicted of drug crimes in New South Wales, where
roughly a third of Australia's 19 million people live, would not get access
to the programme.
Groups pushing for the decriminalisation of pot, who have fiercely
criticised the Carr government's zero-tolerance approach to casual
marijuana use and laws allowing police to use sniffer dogs in streets and
pubs, welcomed the plan.
But anti-drug campaigners condemned it.
Jill Pearman, chairwoman of the Quit Marijuana Programme at Sydney's
Westmead Hospital, said it was "absolutely scandalous". "I run a programme
whereby we see people who are psychotic because of cannabis use," she told
ABC radio.
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