Queensland will wait for federal government advice before following the southern states’ lead in trialling medicinal marijuana if the LNP is returned to government.
Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie reaffirmed his stance on the issue while visiting Capalaba Police Station with local MP Steve Davies on Wednesday.
He said any change in the law would be dependent on health authority advice.
“If it’s given the green light at the federal level to be used as medicine then we’d await the outcomes of that,” he said.
“We’ve also said we’ll look at the other jurisdictions where it’s being implemented in different ways.”
Medicinal marijuana became a topic of local debate in August last year, when the Bulletin interviewed Redland Bay mother Casey Mackay about her use of cannabinoid tinctures to treat her daughter’s epilepsy and autism.
Posts on the Bulletin’s Facebook page revealed other locals used the drug to treat illnesses such as brain cancer.
The NSW government committed to trialling the treatment last year, while the newly elected Victorian Labor government included it as a policy before the November poll.
Mr Davies said he’d been lobbied on the issue, but said the medicinal use of the drug would need to be properly regulated.
“I see it ultimately being the same as any other narcotic,” he said.
“We have opium, but we don’t allow people to use it recreationally because it has bad side effects. But it’s a wonderful drug if you’ve got cancer or regular pain.
“Is growing a [cannabis] plant out in your backyard and smoking it medicinal? Well no it’s not because there’s detrimental health side effects of smoking it.
“We need to look at it, but it needs to be done in a scientific manner and with medical expertise.”
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