Tag: Australia

Legalize Cannabis Australia Party Obtains Record Results In Queensland Elections

Written by Johnny Green on May 24, 2022. Posted in Archives, Policy.

The single-issue party is poised to gain its first senate seat in Queensland. Is recreational reform on the cards nationally?

Elections in Australia’s third most populous state, accounting for 22% of its landmass, may indicate which way the tide is running when it comes to legalization Down Under. Legalise Cannabis Australia is now running 7th in a six-seat senate race according to Australia’s ABC News.

According to The Guardian, the party has also done well nationally – picking up between 2 and 7% of the vote in most states.

This year, they have also received a record number of votes.

With 34% of the votes now counted, LCA has so far received 74,972 votes – an increase of 5% of the votes they received in 2019. Regardless of whether they win one of the seats, they will get government funding for exceeding 4% of the votes in Queensland.

Party president Michael Balderstone is a long-time advocate. He has been involved with the party since its founding in the 1990s – in New South Wales.

Pain Relief & Cost of Cannabis Are Pillar of Campaign

One of the main planks of the party is the efficacy of the drug – and the still prohibitive cost of the same for patients. They are advocating for patient home grow.

There have been 130,000 applications for medical cannabis in Queensland. More than double any other state. One of the reasons for this is that this is a popular state for retirees.

And despite the criticism that the increased vote for the party is just a protest vote, one thing is clear. Cannabis legalization is not static in Australia.

Home Grow – The Revolution

As more and more countries recognize the medical efficacy of cannabis, there is a decided trend toward home grow – even as the first step to legalization. This trend is being seen very clearly in Europe right now. Malta and shortly, Luxembourg will allow home grow. Germany is now probably going to include the same in its recreational plans to be announced by this summer.

There is an obvious logic to this. Medical cannabis is still far too expensive for most patients – no matter who pays for it. Allowing home grow will do two things. It will allow patients to offset the costs of their medicine. And it will spare governments the cost of covering it.

Regulating that infrastructure, however, may prove to be tricky. In Canada, where patient collectives created the basis for the legal recreational market, there is a perennial debate about reigning this in because of its impact on recreational sales.

Regardless, the genie is out of the bottle. And that revolution is now clearly global.

Australia Has Issues A Quarter Million Cannabis Prescriptions Since 2016

Written by Johnny Green on May 19, 2022. Posted in Archives, Business, Policy.

Medical cannabis is increasingly prescribed for a multitude of conditions. Where does this indicate that the market ‘down under’ is headed?

According to researchers from the University of Sydney at the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, anxiety, chronic pain and sleep disorders are the top three reasons that Australians seek a cannabis prescription. This is despite the limited number of trials supporting its use for either anxiety or sleep disorders.

Prescriptions have also increased dramatically over the last two years – although researchers were unable to determine if the rise in such requests was due to the Pandemic. Another unexplained trend revealed by the data set that has been gathered since the beginning of medical reform showed that Queensland prescribers represented over half of the prescriptions written nationally.

How Does This Compare with Germany?

Australia is perhaps the closest “Western” country to Germany in terms of timing and approach to initializing the legal cannabis market. Both countries approved medical use on a federal level about the same time (within a year of each other). And while Germany’s total number of prescriptions outnumbers the Australian total so far, they are certainly comparable.

The difference between the two countries, however, is that Germany is now moving solidly towards a recreational market. Australia seems mired in indecision.

When Will It Get Dank Down Under?

In Europe, there is now a pressing regional political issue to deal with. Namely, there is no way that Germany can sit the recreational reform question out with countries all around it (and in two cases bordering it) now proceeding with federally regulated recreational cannabis markets. Australia is a bit isolated in this regard, although it is, as a country, clearly following the global trend.

Australian producers are also trying to export to Germany (as well as eastern Europe).

The latest poll numbers show that Australians are currently split, 50-50 on whether the country should proceed with a recreational market. That has moved fairly dramatically in the last several years.

For this very reason, it is also highly likely that, at a bare minimum, the initiation of a recreational market in Germany might tip the scales. Everyone right now is looking for a new industry or line of revenue post Covid.

And then of course there is the ability to export to a fully recreational market or two in Europe.

Given all the possibilities now at stake, it is very likely that Australia will be one of the next major western economies to make the switch. Even if so far unannounced.

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55% Of Australians Want To Regulate Cannabis Like Alcohol According To New Poll

Written by Johnny Green on May 2, 2022. Posted in Archives, Policy.

Back in 2012, I was part of a network of activists pushing for legal cannabis at the state level here in the United States. We were able to get adult-use cannabis legalization on the ballot in three states that year – Colorado, Washington, and Oregon (Oregon is where I live).

The activists in Colorado had the best political messaging out of the three efforts, heavily relying on the ‘regulate cannabis like alcohol’ talking point. It proved to be a tremendously successful way to frame legalization with voters. Much better than the ‘regulate cannabis like tomatoes’ talking point that many activists (not me) were promoting here in Oregon as part of what would prove to be a losing effort for us on Election Day in 2012.

Alcohol is common in society, and unlike tomatoes it induces intoxication. Yet, people are able to consume it responsibly and governments are able to regulate it. Given that alcohol is exponentially more harmful than cannabis, the ‘regulate cannabis like alcohol’ message resonated with a wide voter base because it was a logical approach to implementing sensible public policy.

It’s a concept that has since expanded well beyond the borders of the State of Colorado, and it’s still something that resonates with voters, as proven by a recent poll conducted in Australia. Below is more information about the poll via an excerpt from Cannabiz:

The online survey of 1,086 adults aged 18-plus, conducted by polling company Essential Research from March 30 to April 2, found 50% of respondents support making cannabis use legal, double the number recorded in the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey.

And a majority — 55% — favour regulating and taxing cannabis sales like alcohol or tobacco.

Meanwhile, 58% want medicinal cannabis made more affordable and accessible by allowing people with prescriptions to grow their own, and 62% support scrapping current drug-driving laws.

All of the poll’s results are insightful. However, the 50% level of support for ‘making cannabis legal’ compared to the 55% level of support for ‘regulating and taxing cannabis sales like alcohol’ really stood out to me. It demonstrates how many more people will support reform when there is a regulated industry component being proposed, and that it would be based on a similar regulatory structure as alcohol.

In years past, the concept of regulating cannabis like alcohol was just a theory. Now that a number of jurisdictions have implemented the practice, including Canada at a national level, places like Australia can see it working in real-time.

Legalization works. Regulation works. Hopefully lawmakers in Australia see these poll results and work to get their country on the right side of history sooner rather than later.

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Australian Researchers Examine Motivation Behind Increased Support For Legalization

Written by Johnny Green on April 27, 2022. Posted in Politics.

Support for adult-use cannabis legalization is stronger now at the global level than at any other time since the start of international cannabis prohibition. Now that Uruguay, Canada, and Malta have passed national cannabis legalization measures and the sky didn’t fall, that should only further add to the momentum for legalization in other countries.

Researchers in Australia recently examined survey data in an attempt to try to identify why support for cannabis legalization has risen in recent decades, specifically in the United States. The researchers leading the study were all affiliated with The University of Queensland, and they examined, “historical changes in legalization attitudes and the period-specific individual and external influences on these.”

“A systematic search was conducted for publications in PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycINFO up to October 2019. Six studies with a regionally or nationally representative adult US-based populations were included.” the researchers stated regarding their methodology.

“A secondary analysis was conducted using data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health. Hierarchical age-period-cohort analysis assessed the trends in perceived harmfulness and availability of cannabis between 1996 and 2018. Ecological comparisons were made between these perceptions and support for cannabis legalization over time.” the researchers went on to state.

The researchers determined that support for adult-use cannabis legalization started to increase considerably in the 1990s, and that the increase continued in a linear fashion until 2019. That is reflected in the results of Gallup’s annual cannabis legalization poll, a graph of which can be seen below:

Gallup’s polling is particularly useful because they have asked the same question every year since 1969. As you can clearly see, support for legalization was a dismal 25% in the mid-1990s, and it continued to rise nearly every year through 2020 when it leveled off at 68%.

“Most people developed more liberal views, with no evidence that changes within any one sociodemographic group was disproportionately responsible for the overall attitudinal change. Increases in the proportion of people who use cannabis, non-religious population and political liberalism may partially explain the increased support for legalization.” the researchers determined.

“The decline in perceived harmfulness of cannabis, as reflected in the media, may have contributed to the increased support for legalization.” the researchers stated.

“The US population has become more accepting of cannabis legalization. The attitudinal change is related to changes in the perceived risks and benefits of cannabis use, influenced by broader political and cultural changes over the study period.” the researchers concluded.

The researchers obviously have their views regarding why cannabis legalization has increased, however, I don’t necessarily agree with all of their conclusions. I definitely do not think that there was a ‘decline in the perceived harmfulness of cannabis reflected in the media.’

To back up that personal belief, I would point to the ongoing ‘coverage’ by media companies that are blatant reefer madness propaganda. Mainstream media outlets still regularly provide cannabis opponents access to their platforms and allow them to publish nonsense without any attempt to fact-check it from what I can tell. What has changed is the increased volume of peer-reviewed studies regarding cannabis, and the increased availability and awareness of the results of those studies, many of which directly refute long-standing anti-cannabis talking points.

I also don’t think that increasing support for cannabis legalization is the direct result of an increase in ‘political liberalism’ being that support for cannabis legalization has increased among voters from all major political parties. I personally believe that there are two major factors at play in the recorded increase in support for legalization, and this goes for polling data in the United States and everywhere else.

First, many people have always supported legalization and are only now willing to admit it since prohibition is crumbling and the stigma is reducing. Secondly, people that were on the fence about cannabis legalization quickly move to the ‘supporter’ category when they see that legalization is working wherever it is allowed.

Once legalization goes from a hypothetical to implementation, and it works, many cannabis prohibition talking points instantly die in the minds of many voters. The legalization supporter base expands to non-consumers that just want to see sensible public policy enacted. It also expands to people that want to see society reap the economic benefits of a regulated industry. That is likely why you see polling results continue to improve as legalization continues to spread, at least in my opinion.

Australia And New Zealand Renew Commitment To Medical Cannabis

Written by Marguerite Arnold on March 8, 2022. Posted in Politics.

The APAC region of the world continues to develop its medical cannabis industry – but no word yet about further reform

Australia and New Zealand may well be “down under” but they are continuing to develop their medical cannabis sectors.

In Australia, the British study and trial Project Twenty21 has announced that they are expanding to the country. Project Twenty21 was launched in 2019 in the UK. The goal was to establish a national body of evidence about the efficacy of cannabis and provide patients with cannabinoid medicines at a discount. The additional cost was underwritten by licensed producers who agreed to participate. Patients had to agree that their medical data could be collected by the organization managing the effort – Drug Science.

The plan originally was to enrol 20,000 patients by the end of 2021, but so far, only 2,000 patients have joined the study. The project has been extended in the UK until the end of this year. In the meantime, the project will unroll in Australia. Releaf Clinics will be the local partner organization. Study participants will have to complete annual questionnaires and attend the participating clinics. Current users of cannabis will be excluded from the trial, which is expected to enrol about 1,000 patients.

Just a skip and a hop across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand has also just announced that it is committed to its existing cannabis scheme. The health minister Andrew Little has reiterated that the government remains dedicated to its new Medicinal Cannabis Scheme, addressing critics who have said the program is too stringent. Little said that the country will source its cannabis via firms who comply with GMP standards even though critics have said this standard creates a cost barrier for patients that is often prohibitive.

How Will This Development Impact the Global Industry?

Both Australia and New Zealand are continuing to establish their presence on the international cannabis scene even while developing their own national markets. Australia has begun importing cannabis from other countries even as some of its producers are also finding their way to Europe. New Zealand has its sights set clearly on establishing a European market for its cannabis exports. Firms are already scouring the landscape for partners.

However, the continued expansion of both two country’s medical markets and additional demand (and supply) of medicinal cannabis will do several things. It will create two more viable medical markets and will contribute to the now continued downward pressure on the price.

Many cannabis patients are not able to participate in legal programs simply because the cost of the drug is still too expensive.

Be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference events in Europe in 2022, including Barcelona, Berlin, and Zurich!

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Australian Pharmacies Can Now Sell CBD Without A Prescription

Written by Johnny Green on February 3, 2021. Posted in Business.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is arguably the most popular cannabinoid on earth right now, even ahead of THC. THC is obviously still very popular, however, CBD is searched for more often on Google than its cannabinoid counterpart.

CBD is being infused into just about anything and everything, for better or worse. Some CBD products make sense, such as capsules and topicals. However, some products out there such as ‘CBD firewood’ is a headscratcher for sure.

Regardless of the merits of some CBD products, the fact of the matter is that CBD is extremely popular, with more and more patients and consumers looking to CBD for wellness benefits.

In many countries, such as in the United States, CBD products can be purchased virtually anywhere. CBD-infused products are very commonly found around the world.

With that in mind, it is odd that CBD required a prescription in Australia, where reefer madness was preventing the non-intoxicating cannabinoid from being freely sold. Fortunately, that is changing. Per News.Com.Au:

Low-dose cannabidiol (CBD) can be sold in pharmacies around Australia from today, for the first time without prescription.

The chemical compound – extracted from cannabis – is used to treat a number of health issues, including pain, insomnia and anxiety, and can now be bought over-the-counter after the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved its sale last month.

While the product will only be available to adults in doses of no more than 150 milligrams per day, patients will no longer require a referral or special approval for its legal use.

Ideally, there would be no limit on the amount of CBD that people can purchase without a prescription, but for now, this move by Australia is a great step in the right direction.

CBD does not possess the same euphoric-inducing qualities that THC does, and by virtually every measure it’s benign from a risk standpoint, so it doesn’t make sense to limit non-prescription sales to low-dose options only.

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Lawmaker In Australia Pushes For Cannabis Decriminalization

Written by Johnny Green on September 30, 2020. Posted in Politics.

Cannabis policies can take on many forms around the globe. Unfortunately, the most common form is prohibition. Cannabis reform is thankfully spreading across the globe, however, the majority of countries on the planet still prohibit cannabis.

A far superior yet rarer form of cannabis policy is adult-use legalization. Currently, only Uruguay and Canada have this policy in place. Many countries also permit the legal use of cannabis for medical purposes.

One policy area that is somewhat in between the others is cannabis decriminalization.

Cannabis decriminalization is not the same as legalization in that there is still a penalty for cannabis possession, yet it is also not the same as full-prohibition because cannabis possession is treated as a civil infraction under a decriminalization policy and not treated as a criminal offense.

Cannabis decriminalization appears to be the favored policy for at least one lawmaker in Australia. Per Daily Mail:

Calls for cannabis to be decriminalised are growing with one MP saying the drug is no more addictive than booze or tobacco.

New South Wales Labor MP Rose Jackson told parliament on September 23 legalising the drug would be ‘economically sensible’.

Decriminalization and legalization are often used interchangably by lawmakers even though they are not actually the same thing.

With that being said, even decrminalization is an economically sensible public policy because it lets cops go after real criminals instead of prosecuting and incarcerating people for cannabis.

MP Jackson is 100% correct that cannabis is no more addictive than alcohol or tobacco and cannabis should be regulated in Australia as such.

Unlike tobacco and alcohol, the cannabis plant has never killed anyone. If alcohol and tobacco are legal in Australia and can be properly regulated, then the same should be true for cannabis.

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Australia Moves Forward Into The Global Cannabis Export Game

Written by Marguerite Arnold on July 1, 2020. Posted in Politics.

Cannabis reform is moving forward in interesting ways down under. Not content to “just” begin producing medical crops for domestic consumption, the Australian parliament appears to be following in the steps of Israel. Namely, the Export Control Legislation Amendment to the Certification of Narcotic Exports 2020 bill was approved in mid-June. Beyond the legislative lingo, this basically means that Australian grown narcotic and hemp cannabis products will face less red tape in being exported to the rest of the world.

More interestingly, the amendments to the bill were intended to give an extra boost to the Australian economy by allowing more cannabis to be exported in the wake of the COVID crisis.

Export certification offered by the Australian government will allow Australian exports to meet import requirements of countries now importing cannabis (of both the hemp and medical kind).

The government is looking in particular at countries China as well as other markets in South-East Asia, Canada and the U.S.

Is There A Global Demand If Shortage Of “Legitimate” Cannabis?

This is an emerging debate right now as the German market records a record-breaking quarter for insurance approvals and the state of Nord-Rhein Westphalia bans all hemp that is not “Novel Food” regulated. Is there a “legitimate” cannabis shortage?

That is a very good question.

There is certainly a race to get crops and products certified under existing regulations. However, those are also changing. It is not likely that the current EU regulations will stand as is on the hemp front. It belies common sense to insist that hemp oil pressed from cannabis seeds is somehow “not novel” while that extracted from flowers and leaves is. This is a debate, sadly, that is also almost guaranteed to overshadow the recreational developments now absolutely looming in Europe.

However European regulations are just one part of the overall discussion. It is intriguing that the Australians seem to be targeting hemp markets outside of Europe with this new initiative. Medical products exports from Australia to Europe however, have been in the pipeline for the last several years.

Regardless of the shape of the overall developing market – the reality is that Australia is the largest exporter of food and agriculture generally to both China and other regional neighbours, this is an interesting development. It is an even more positive statement that post-COVID, cannabis will continue to gain status as both an economic crop and an important export product – globally.

Be sure to return to the International Cannabis Business Conference as the world begins to open up post-COVID. Details about returning conferences will begin to be posted soon.

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Australia Lets General Practitioners Prescribe Medical Cannabis

Written by Marguerite Arnold on November 23, 2019. Posted in Medical.

The UK and Australia might both be members of the Commonwealth, but their approach to medical cannabis so far could not be more different.

In the UK as of the beginning of the month, the NHS agreed not only to authorize just two cannabis drugs (manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals) but also mandated that those prescribing the same must be specialists.

In Australia, in contrast, GPs have just been given the go-ahead to prescribe.

What a world of difference!

Why Is It So Important To Allow GPs To Prescribe Cannabis?

Doctors everywhere are still resistant to prescribing cannabis and legislation mandating that not only “doctors” but specialty doctors (like neurologists or oncologists) does not help. It creates at least an extra step for patients to obtain a prescription. And adds to the expense of care.

Making patients go to hospitals (as opposed to local clinics) also does not help ease access problems.

In places like New York, for example, this approach is beginning to trickle down in its own way. Community clinics in the Big Apple now do prescribe the drug. However, in Europe, the discussion is still way behind the times.

Australia at least seems to be forging a path only so far seen widely in Israel. Government reimbursed doctors will be able to prescribe the drug.

Why Is This Problem So Difficult In Europe?

Part of the problem is that while European healthcare is “comprehensive,” systems everywhere are bogged down with bureaucratic processes that deliberately slow down changes in care to make sure that they are cost-effective and work.

When it comes to the cannabis conversation, however, this means a fairly radical rethinking of even Euro healthcare provision.

Cannabis patients also tend to defy other chronically ill patients. With cannabis, formerly immobilized or fully disabled patients can more easily function if not better or fully manage their conditions. This also means that patients forced to obtain their drug illegally, can get better, faster and then lobby for change.

In places like Luxembourg and Denmark right now, that also might be on the cusp of changing. In Luxembourg in fact, the government is expanding its medical training program for doctors next year and increasing the budget for doctor training. Other places in Europe are not so progressive – at least at the moment.

Most patients in Europe still obtain their drug the “old fashioned way.” Namely through grey and black market channels.