Women’s organisation VIEW Clubs of Australia votes to make medicinal cannabis lobbying priority, at 2017 national conference in Tamworth

VIEW Clubs of Australia, with 16,000 members nationwide, voted on this resolution at its conference at TRECC at the weekend.

It joins the Country Women's Association, NSW Nurses and Midwives Association and other groups in supporting the movement.

The motion was “that VIEW Clubs of Australia call on state and federal governments to legislate regulatory systems which ensure patient access to cannabis and cannabis-related drugs to ease their suffering”.

This will be in addition to VIEW’s longstanding advocacy for disadvantaged children and young people.

National VIEW councillor for this area, Barbara Hyslop, said medicinal cannabis was selected as the priority over three other motions tabled at the event: on family law reforms, gambling advertising and education of students with disability.

Mrs Hyslop said she believed the motion had gained such support partly because United in Compassion’s Lucy Haslam had shared her story during the previous day’s Panel of Inspirational People.

“I guess a lot of these things are also influenced by people’s experience and people they know having experiences,” Mrs Hyslop said.

“Isn’t that what governs most people's reasons for voting on something?

“A lot of people are affected by cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy.”

Mrs Haslam agreed that the vote “was really reflecting the feeling in the wider community”.

“I speak to a lot of groups and I get overwhelming support, and it seems this is another indication of government being out of touch with the feeling of the people.”

VIEW calls its national resolution process “the voice of the organisation” in which members “collectively identify and articulate issues that are considered important for influencing social change in Australia”.