MEDICAL marijuana crusader Lucy Haslam has taken a public swipe at medicos opposed to legalising the drug, accusing them of being “too cozy” with pharmaceutical companies.
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Just weeks out from a medical marijuana bill being tabled in the NSW parliament, the Tamworth mum and former nurse penned an open letter to Royal Australian College of Physicians president Dr Nicholas Talley, who has questioned moves to make cannabis legal for the terminally ill.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has also raised concerns about making the drug legal for the dying.
It comes amid huge public support for medical marijuana, with some polls – including one from The Northern Daily Leader – showing more than 90 per cent support and a recent survey of more than 3400 Australians showing about two-thirds back medicinal marijuana.
Last week, Dr Talley claimed there was not enough evidence of the long-term effects or short-term benefits to warrant medical marijuana, calling for more clinical trials.
But in a stinging response, Mrs Haslam challenged the medical fraternity on its “wet blanket” approach, claiming it was “heavily impacting on the sick and dying”.
“Clinical trials have been conducted throughout the world; the medical profession in Australia just chooses to ignore them,” Mrs Haslam said.
“Is it because of their support for the pharmaceutical industry which so heavily incentivises their opinions and treatment choices?
“It is the only conclusion I keep coming back to.
“People prescribing medical treatments who are continuously given generous gifts by the pharmaceutical industry would come under third party scrutiny if it were paralleled to other settings.”
Medical marijuana has already been legalised in 18 states in the US.
Mrs Haslam scoffed at concerns around marijuana’s long-term side effects to users, saying it was “completely irrelevant” to someone facing a terminal diagnosis.
She urged the medical profession to listen more closely to the stories of their patients.
“The medical profession needs to support all Australians who do not respond to tried and tested conventional medicines,” she said.
“Don’t just continue to ignore the positive experiences described by your patients using medicinal cannabis.
“The reality is that the terminally ill are representative of our society and they have been ignored on this issue for too long.”
