Sydney pharmacist says there is no import barrier to medical marijuana JULY 06, 2014 A SYDNEY pharmacist has weighed into the medical marijuana debate, arguing that the systems to import and distribute the drug are already in place. Daryll Knowles, the owner of Australian Custom Pharmaceuticals, said medicinal cannabis could easily be imported from Holland and administered in the same way as the current methadone program. “It’s not such a tough hurdle, the systems are already in place to import narcotics like codeine and morphine, the NSW Ministry of Health already has processes in place to distribute these, and cannabis could be added to that,” he said. Mr Knowles has followed the plight of 24-year-old Dan Haslam, who has incurable bowel cancer and has fortnightly chemotherapy treatments, which cause severe nausea and weight loss. Since trying cannabis late last year he has not suffered nausea and has been able to eat normally. His father Lou, a former drug squad detective, and his mother, Lucy, are forced to break the law to get the illegal drug they call miraculous. Health Minister Jillian Skinner knocked back the pro-medicinal cannabis recommendations of a cross party committee last year. “The quality and safety of these products cannot be guaranteed,” she said. However, the Health Minister said she did support the use of prescription pharmaceutical cannabis products that were approved and regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Mr Knowles said the Dutch-based company Fag-ron already produced medicinal grade cannabis and exported it to other European companies. “The process to get it here is there, it is a standardised medicinal grade, it is sterilised and comes in little sealed 5g pots that the Dutch government sells for €28 ($40),” Mr Knowles said. Dan’s mother said she was frustrated by politicians who stood in the way. “You come up with a solution and they just throw up another argument, I don’t care how it happens, it just needs to happen,” Lucy Haslam said. JANE HANSEN THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH dailytelegraph.au/news/nsw/sydney-pharmacist-says-there-is-no-import-barrier-to-medical-marijuana/story-fni0cx12-1226978819148?nk=69ca7a1f83d3b82ce709650e6c664fde
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 04:28:08 +0000
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