IT WAS the ultimate primer on medical marijuana; an intense, two-day conference that brought together some of the globe’s most respected minds on the issue.
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Amid the torrent of personal testimony on the healing power of the drug that has emerged in recent months, the Inaugural Australian Medical Cannabis Symposium offered some science and context to marry with the emotion.
There were, of course, personal stories: the desperate father who gave his toddler daughter cannabis oil to save her life; the middle-aged woman who claimed marijuana had helped put her cancer into remission.
But the real heavy hitting came from those with official titles: the politicians, the law-enforcers, the scientists and the doctors.
They spoke of the political impediments to change, the historical fear-mongering that has demonised marijuana as medicine and the prohibitive power of the drug to treat a range of conditions. It was compelling and it was utterly convincing.
That Tamworth mum Lucy Haslam was able to organise such a mammoth event in two months is a testament to her determination.
That she has helped orchestrate a massive social change within six months is even more remarkable.
She has taken medical marijuana reform from a fringe issue to a fait accompli.
The political will is certainly now there. NSW Premier Mike Baird seems more resolved than ever to have NSW lead the nation on compassionate medical marijuana laws while there is broad consensus at a federal level in support of reform.
Tamworth has been an unlikely harbinger of change and should be justifiably proud in its role.
And it should remind us all that a community united wields an extraordinary power to fight injustice.
Fairer medical marijuana laws are not just a symbolic victory, they will help ease the suffering of millions of Australians for generations to come.
And that’s a legacy well worth fighting for.