IT IS hoped a high profile conference on medicinal cannabis will draw wider attention to the plight of patients struggling to access the drugs.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Lucy Haslam's organisation United in Compassion will host its annual symposium this week in Tweed Heads and this edition will have added poignancy with a federal election around the corner.
The symposium, which starts on Friday, will feature presentations from cancer and cannabis researchers from abroad.
READ MORE:
However, the symposium has already hit a snag with peak medical bodies, including the Australia Medical Association (AMA) and Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP), turning down opportunities to attend, whch she found disappointing.
"Even when the evidence laid on thick on a plate for them, we've got the world's renown speakers, and they're just not interested and it's sending a message to the patients," she said.
AMA NSW president Kean-Seng Lim said the peak body supported current clinical trials on cannabis products but it still wanted more evidence.
"As doctors, we want to ensure that all medical products are effective, safe, and what dosage is appropriate if they are used, and these trials will help answer those questions," Dr Lim said.
"It's imperative that they are answered if doctors are going to be expected to prescribe cannabis-based medicines as they do with existing medicines."
A RACP spokesperson said it supported further trialling but there needed to be a balance "between compassion and an appropriate level of assessment for patients for whom medicinal cannabis might be beneficial".
"For this reason the RACP supports further high quality research and clinical trials, as well as rigorous assessment of the benefits and risks through the Therapeutic Goods Administration, to ensure that patients can have confidence that medicinal cannabis is an effective medical treatment," he said.
"This is an especially important consideration for prescribing medicinal cannabis to children, as there may be unknown side effects on child's health and development."