Greens NSW MP and health spokesman John Kaye congratulated the Baird government for taking the first step in medicinal cannabis trials, but criticised it for being “too timid” and said legalising medical cannabis swiftly could combat deaths from accidental overdoses of strong pain medication. 

“The Baird government has been far too timid. The trials could take up to five years to produce legislation and their discretion for police still leaves terminally ill people using medical cannabis at risk of prosecution,” Dr Kaye said. 

“There’s no reason to wait around. We know on the evidence that has been produced that not only is it effective pain relief, it actually brings down death rates from opioid overdoses.”

Dr Kaye said in some states in the US, medical cannabis use had led to a drop in overdoses of painkillers such as Oxycontin by 20 per cent, as patients were not continually upping their medication to deal with the pain and accidentally overdosing. 

“It saves lives,” he said. 

He said there were “literally thousands” of people suffering across NSW who were left to the discretion of police and they should not be forced to make a decision between breaking the law and seeking relief from crippling pain. 

Ahead of the March election, he called on the government to consider a safe and legal supply chain and expand the number of conditions that can be treated with medical cannabis, as outlined in a private member’s bill the Greens introduced in November last year. 

Dr Kaye praised the Haslam family and Tamworth community for their “courage, humanity and common sense” in rallying behind Dan Haslam, who has terminal bowel cancer and found medical cannabis eased his pain and restored his appetite. 

“It is totally fitting that the push to get the Greens bill through Parliament starts here in Tamworth,” Dr Kaye said. 

Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson defended the government’s decision to implement clinical trials before legalising the drug for medical purposes. 

“We need a national-based solution. Our peak bodies need to be convinced and the way to do that is to try our own trials,” Mr Anderson said.

He said although there was evidence of the benefits of medical marijuana from trials conducted in America and other countries, an Australia-specific procedure needed to be carried out. 

“I think we have come a very long way ... a Tamworth-led push has put this on the national agenda,” he said.

The government will hold trials for the drug for children with epilepsy, terminally ill adults and chemotherapy patients suffering nausea and vomiting as a result of their treatment.