Queensland does not have an amnesty for medicinal cannabis
Using untested medicinal cannabis products
Some families have been giving their children cannabis products from the illicit market because there was no legal source. Many of these parents are in a situation where standard treatment for their child's condition has not been successful or may cause significant side effects.
These families access information on the Internet and online forums that suggest the use of medicinal cannabis may be helpful for their child's condition, however much of this information is anecdotal and not scientifically verified.
These children are suffering debilitating illnesses and the parents are desperate to help their children. This unfortunately means they may be sourcing various illicit, untested products of unknown quality and efficacy. A few of these parents are satisfied with the illicit product they are using and do not wish to change to another product that may be different to the current illicit product or cost more. These parents see an amnesty as a way to continue their current treatment.
By changing the law to enable access to a legal source of medicinal cannabis, the Queensland Government is supporting parents to ensure that their child has the safest and best possible treatment available.
Why not an Amnesty?
Some people are requesting an amnesty from prosecution to take illicit cannabis themselves or give their children illicit cannabis for medicinal purposes. The issue is that an amnesty would not provide a legal source of pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis for these individuals or families.
Illegal products are not overseen by a prescriber and they remain outside of the treatment plan, there may be potentially dangerous drug interactions that are not known to either the prescriber or patient. Using recreational or unregulated cannabis doesn’t guarantee that these products are safe and effective for patients to use. Illicit products would not be able to be used by healthcare professionals in hospital settings, so when patients are admitted to hospital there is no capacity to continue their use.
By providing a legal way for prescribers to prescribe approved products, the Queensland Government is looking after the safety of patients and families.
In Queensland, all patients receiving medicinal cannabis treatment may only use a lawfully-obtained product. This is preferable to an amnesty scheme because:
- it provides access without supporting the illegal or black-market cannabis industry
- treatment is prescribed and monitored by a prescriber, rather than encouraging the patient to self-medicate
- the prescribed product used will be of known consistency and quality
- where clinically appropriate, treatment can be continued if the person is admitted to hospital.
Growing your own cannabis for medicinal use remains illegal
The community has a right to expect that any medicine prescribed to them by a prescriber is as safe as it possibly can be, when used as recommended. That’s why we put controls around the approval and use of any medicine.
Home-grown cannabis products have unknown concentrations of active ingredients and contain potentially harmful contaminants. These home-grown products are easily diverted into the illicit drug market. Medicinal cannabis products need to be consistent, contaminant-free, and high-quality, so prescribers can make safe prescribing and dosage decisions.
All medicinal cannabis needs to be accounted for under Australia’s commitment to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 and other international conventions.