A DEAL to grow medical cannabis from Norfolk Island and export it internationally has a disappointing ring of irony about it for local campaigners.
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Cannabis producer AusCann on Wednesday became the first Australian company to be granted a licence to grow cannabis and export it internationally, to Canada.
Medical marijuana campaigner Lucy Haslam said it would be “ironic” if the decision went ahead, meaning patients in Canada would receive cannabis grown on Norfolk Island, but Australian patients on the island’s doorstep would miss out.
She said patients, like her son Dan, who died of bowel cancer earlier this year, were “crying out for it”.
But the landmark deal struck between the company and the Norfolk Island government comes a week after the Australian government passed legislation to abolish the island’s government.
From the end of next month, Norfolk Island will no longer be a self-governing territory and will be replaced with a local council.
The medical cannabis deal has renewed calls for the drug to be made available to Australian patients, but Mrs Haslam fears the fate of the island’s governance may see the plan overturned.
The company plans to grow a high-grade medical strain of cannabis from November, with plans to export one tonne of the drug to Canada by mid-2016.