Northern MPs have welcomed an announcement from Premier Mike Baird yesterday that his government had reached an agreement with a UK drug company to allow trials of medical cannabis in children with severe, drug-resistant epilepsy.
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The news means NSW parents whose children suffer dozens of epileptic seizures daily will be among the first in the world to access cannabis-based drugs if the promised trials prove successful.
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the NSW government and GW Pharmaceuticals (GW) is hoped to bring relief to families with children suffering several seizures a day.
Mr Anderson described it as an important step forward in the push to legalise medicinal cannabis in Australia, an issue tied to the Leader’s Doing it For Dan campaign begun in Tamworth with the Haslam family over the time of Daniel’s long battle with cancer and his family’s continued high-profile push in the wake of Dan’s tragic death in February this year.
Mr Anderson was instrumental in introducing Premier Baird to
the family before Dan’s death, a meeting which subsequently changed Mr Baird’s attitude to the issue of medical marijuana for cancer sufferers – and a wider community of pain-plagued children.
Mr Anderson said NSW continued to “show incredible progress in medicinal cannabis research.”
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall said the move meant NSW was the first state to provide safe and legal access for children who were suffering across NSW and the announcement would provide hope to their families.
The MOU between the NSW
Government and GW Pharmaceuticals comes as part of the NSW Government’s $21million commitment to support clinical trials and establish the NSW Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research and Innovation.