Calls for Government transparency with cannabis cultivation
BY LUCAS BAIRD
The founder and director of Medicinal Cannabis Australia has cautioned the NSW government about keeping the public in the dark regarding their pilot cultivation scheme.
The Office of Primary Industries announced the $21 million trail programme last week, shortly before it became apparent that doctors would be able to prescribe cannabis to certain patients, but were short on the details.
When asked by the City Hub on Friday, the office failed to provide relevant answers and did not describe what would be associated with the trail’s costs.
Medicinal Cannabis Australia director, Heath Kratzer, said that while the government cultivating cannabis was a step in the right direction, they need be more transparent.
“I guess they feel the need to test different strains and pick a strain or a few strains that are right for different diseases or hopefully that’s what they are doing,” he said.
“The trouble is that is pretty difficult to find information on what the State Government is trying to achieve and it is a lot of guesswork really.”
“They haven’t really stated anything so I can understand why people feel like they are being left in the dark.”
However, the Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair, did say that he hoped this pilot programme will make sure that the pharmaceutical supply is secure and safe into the future.
“This is an important step forward that underpins the potential pharmaceutical supply of cannabis-based medicines made in Australia.”
“This cultivation research will build the additional evidence required to produce medicinal cannabis in NSW to guaranteed safety and quality standards.”
Mr Blair also said that he believed this programme will pave the way for non-government cultivation in the future, but it is currently unclear on how this transition will happen.
Mr Kratzer said that while he supports non-government cultivation, he warned that prices could skyrocket if big pharmaceutical companies were to gain monopolies on farming cannabis.
He said that price gouging was endemic in the pharmaceutical industry and that he hoped that the government would not lock out small investors and farmers from the industry.
