Medical Cannabis

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Health and Wellbeing a question about medicinal cannabis and addictions.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: Last night, in this place, the Lambert Initiative presented to a group of MPs and, prior to that, to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing and some on his staff and from his department in a more private format. The Lambert Initiative, for those who are not aware, was initiated when Barry and Joy Lambert made an unprecedented donation of some $33.7 million to the University of Sydney for research into the therapeutic use of medicinal cannabis.

Currently headed by Professor Iain McGregor, who we had the good fortune to meet last night, along with one of his colleagues Rhys Cohen—I thank the Speaker in the other place for his hosting of the event in partnership with me—informed members, including the minister, about their work. That work includes cannabis as a medicine with potential in a range of areas such as paediatric epilepsy, cancer and pain, as well as some work that I am sure some members will be very interested in, studying the effect of cannabis on driving. What caught the members' attention the most, I think it would be fair to say, last night was their work on addiction, and indeed some of their work on addiction and methamphetamine.

The initial suite of studies that the Lambert Initiative has now completed found that cannabinoid strongly inhibits intravenous self-administration of methamphetamines in rats, with an animal model of what is colloquially known as ice, seeming to offer very positive results. At both the public and private briefings, Professor Iain McGregor noted that South Australia could potentially be a site to trial the possible benefits of medicinal cannabis for those who are addicted to methamphetamine in our community. As we know, the harmful effects of that addiction include family and relationship breakdowns, as well as financial and legal stresses that are putting strains on individuals and our community.

My question to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing is: what leadership will he show in exploring possibilities to work with the Lambert Initiative in this state? They have noted we have a local product provided by GD Pharma, and we have a particular social problem of this addiction, particularly in our regional areas. Indeed, we now have an opportunity to see if medicinal cannabis can address and alleviate those addictions. Will he work with other members of this place to see that potential realised?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:51): I thank the honourable member for her question. The South Australian government supports appropriate access to medicinal cannabis and ongoing research to build a broader evidence base for its practical application. In terms of access, in conjunction with the therapeutic goods authority, SA Health is in the final stages of putting in place an online portal to allow a single-access application pathway for unregistered medicinal cannabis products. This will reduce potential duplication and turnaround time.

The honourable member is correct that, in terms of medical research, there's a lot of work being done in areas including severe chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, severe refractory childhood epilepsy and, as she mentioned, palliative care. I think it would be fair to say the range of research projects in this area continues to expand. I understand that there are currently clinical trials in Australia which are investigating medical cannabis use in areas as diverse as Tourette syndrome, back pain, insomnia, a specific form of brain cancer called recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, anxiety and mood disorders, moderate to severe acne vulgaris, and epileptic encephalopathy.

In this context, I do thank the honourable member for facilitating an opportunity for me to meet with Professor Iain McGregor and a colleague of his from the Lambert Initiative at the University of Sydney. The Lambert Initiative, as the honourable member highlighted, is dedicated to research on the potential applications of medicinal cannabis, and I look forward to the outcomes of their research. As the honourable member indicated, in the discussions that we had yesterday and later in conversations with clinicians from—sorry, I shouldn't say 'clinicians'; I'm not sure if they are a clinician or an officer—but certainly officers of my department and members of my own office, a suggestion was made of a clinical trial for medicinal cannabis in the treatment of ice users.

As the honourable member indicated, this research is still in its early stages—what you might call the exploratory stage; it's still working with animals. But the idea in itself not unattractive, and it does highlight the fact of the addiction element of ice use and the potential opportunities to address ice use through other means. Medical research funding in Australia is primarily provided through the commonwealth or charitable funds, but the South Australian government is certainly very keen to build our medical research capacity.

As the honourable member says, being the size we are it's a good size for all sorts of industries, and medical research is certainly one of them. My department has done a lot of work in partnership with health stakeholders, particularly in terms of GP education, it is working with the TGA in terms of improving the access pathway, and we are also open to support medical research.