Premier Mike Baird was in Tamworth at the weekend to meet with longtime medicinal cannabis supporter Mrs Haslam, whose son Dan used cannabis while battling terminal cancer.

Once they saw the benefits to Dan, Mrs Haslam and husband Lou began campaigning for medical marijuana to be legalised.

Mrs Haslam said Mr Baird wanted to make Tamworth the centre of supply for medicinal cannabis.

“This is something we have fought for,” she said.

“There will probably be other sites, but the premier is very keen for Tamworth to be the major site – that’s the ultimate plan.” 

Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said Mr Baird met with Mrs Haslam on his visit to Tamworth on Saturday, to give her an update on where the government was up to with medical marijuana clinical trials.

Mr Anderson said the trials of the drug were going well and they were looking to do more next year.

“We’d like to keep it going so that we (can start growing) as soon as possible – because people are waiting,” he said.

“We have to be able to work out the correct dose for the correct person. It has to be like a cold-and-flu tablet where you know exactly what is in that tablet, but there is no such research and development facility for medicinal cannabis, so you don’t know exactly what is in it.”

Under the government’s plan for Tamworth, there will be several mother plants providing the different strains, and patients would know the potency and dosage requirement.

Mr Anderson said the climate was right for the crop.

“Our main crop in and around Tamworth is lucerne and, when you think of the plant variety, we’re got the soil and as long as we’ve got the water, then we can grow this under licence,” he said.

“We have been talking about that for a while, and we will keep talking and looking at options to be able to set up Tamworth as leading the nation in terms of growing medicinal cannabis. 

“It all started here. I’m really, really excited by the prospect that Tamworth could lead the nation as the site for growing medicinal cannabis.”

Mr Anderson said it would be grown at the Department of Primary Industries’ Tamworth Agricultural Institute.

“When you think about the location, we have the research and development here,” he said.

“We have had discussions with Primary Industries, we have the land, we have the best and brightest minds and we are very excited.”

Mrs Haslam said when it would start was dependent on a federal bill, which was due to be tabled in “a couple of weeks”. 

Mr Anderson said the federal government was “very close” to signing off on a national licensing scheme that would allow the states to look for organisations to grow medicinal cannabis under licence.

“Like other tender processes, it then goes to tender and away we go,” he said.

“There is still a little way to go, but there is an enormous amount of work going on behind the scenes.”

Mr Anderson said Mr Baird also met with landholders at Breeza and Caroona and business people in Gunnedah.

“We talked about everything we could – about getting that balance right: the effect on the environment, water, agriculture and jobs, and what does it mean to the communities,” he said.

“Agriculture has some serious concerns about it and that’s why we took Mike down there – so they could voice their concerns directly to him.”