The article, published in the Medical Journal of Australia and written by Newcastle University chair of clinical pharmacology Professor Jennifer Martin and St Vincent’s Health Associate Professor Yvonne Bonomo, raised concerns that there was a lack of reliable information in relation to the dosage, efficacy, safety and prescription of cannabis as a medication.

Professor Martin said she believed there was “a long way to go” before medical cannabis should be legalised and a lot more research undertaken before it was rolled out at a therapeutic product.

“We need to be realistic. This is not going to happen quickly if we want to do it safely and effectively,” Professor Martin told Fairfax Media.

“It’s worth waiting to get this right, because once it’s out there in the community it will be harder to get access to research funding.” 

Professor Martin said despite cannabis being legal in many American states and dispensed from pharmacies in The Netherlands, there 

had not been any reliable data collected on what form of administration and dosages had been most effective for each condition.

When contact by The Leader, Mrs Haslam, the executive director of United in Compassion, said the organisation had submitted an article to the Medical Journal of Australia responding to the claims.

“I am extremely disappointed by the continual disregard of international evidence by Australian doctors,” Mrs Haslam said.

“It is also convenient to ignore that access to a medicinal plant and drug development are two very different things. The plant is astoundingly safe and should be accessible for medical use. Drug development, on the other hand, is altogether another subject that takes years and years to complete.”

Mrs Haslam said she was concerned doctors were at risk of losing the respect of their patients by ignoring the issue.

“I believe it is time for doctors to realise that they cannot view cannabis in the same way as prescribed pharmaceutical drugs and that ignoring patients and not providing a legitimate pathway to access safe medicinal cannabis supplies under supervision is leaving their patients to be exposed to the harms associated with the black market,” she said.