Submission: Public Health (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill 2016
SOME OF THE MAIN ISSUES THAT IMPACT ON PATIENTS
1. Since the Bill was announced in March, Queensland patients and doctors have been misled to believe that this Bill is needed before cannabis can be precribed, dispensed and used in QLD when in fact doctors can already prescribe cannabis, and pharmacists can dispense it under identical medical cannabis provisions in the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulations. These provisions apply whether the cannabis is imported, or supplied from an Australian company under the new federal laws however locally grown cannabis products are not expected to be available until after research trials are completed.
2. Cabinet amended the Health Regulations in December to allow access to cannabis but only via Commonwealth TGA research trials, and the SAS, and in June made further amendments with almost identical provisions to what this Bill proposes to do.
3. Therefore this 143 page Bill is a complete waste of tax payers monies and time as it is only replacing the 8 pages of identical medical cannabis provisions in the Health Regulations, but the Bill has even more discriminatory restrictions and barriers to access (see below).
4. As outlined in our submissions the state process whether under the Health Regulations or the Bill is a duplication of the TGA.assessment and approval process - ie the doctor has federal approval but QLD Health are interferring and delaying access by duplicating the entire TGA assessment process at a state level, and more..... ie the State single patient prescriber is a duplication of the TGA's SAS (case by case) pathway process and the State patient class prescriber (one off aproval to treat multiple patients) is a duplication of the TGA authorised prescriber pathway process.
5. The issue is that QLD Health are treating cannabis as a S8 controlled drug of addiction and are also treating all patients as if they are drug dependent. At present under the Health Regulations doctors only need to notify Q Health they are treating a patient with an S8 drug after 3 months of treatment ie opaites such as morphine, pethidine - they don't need approval. The only time doctors need to apply to QLD Health for approval is to treat a patient if the doctor determines the patient to be drug dependent.
6. So even though doctors have TGA approval, the Bill gives the chief executive excessive and discriminatory powers to take 90 days to decide applications, request further information, and refer the case to an expert panel, and request criminal history checks and the personal circumstances of the patient. Criminal history checks are not required for any other medicine including any S8 drugs. The doctor also needs to send by POST a copy of all the TGA documents with the Q Health 4 page application.
7. This Bill will also:
- give the Chief executive excessive and discriminatory power under an Act as opposed to now where they are contained under regulations.
- if more provisions need to be added or changes made to the ACT at a later stage an amending Bill will need to go before Parliament whereas Cabinet can and have made changes to the Health regulations at weekly cabinet meetings. In addition if this Bill is passed - regulations will need to be made and approved by Parliament and these can contain more conditions and restrictions to access. ie at present under the Health regulations the state is restricting authorised prescribers to oncology, pallative care and childhood epilepsy whereas under the TGA any doctor can be an authorised prescriber.
WHAT THE BILL DOES NOT PROVIDE
- no approvals/authorisation for patients to be exempt from criminal charges under the Drugs Misuse Act (DMA). This is a very simple concept used widely in overseas medical cannabis programs - approval or authrosisation under health will provide a patient an exemption from being charged in the first place under the DMA.
- no provisions for authorisations for State cultivation licences - ie not for profits and small QLD industry only wanting to operate and supply to patients within QLD.
- no provisions for the state to apply to the federal government for the state to cultivate i.e. VIC and NSW governments have recently been granted Commonwealth cutlviation licences.
Note; manufacturing licences, labelling, standards etc for a state program are already in the QLD Health regulations as QLd has not adopted the Commonwealth Therapeutic Goods Act.
SOLUTIONS
SCRAP THE BILL AND CONTINUE TO USE THE HEALTH REGULATIONS
Cabinet could make more amendments to the Health regulations next week or at any weekly Cabinet meeting as follows :
- doctors with TGA approval only need to notify QLD Health they are using cannabis to treat the patient
- doctors only need to apply for QLD Health approval if the patient is being treated with cannabis for drug dependency or if the doctor determines the patient to be drug dependent and at risk and may need closer supervision.
- include approvals for patients and carers to be exempt from criminal charges under the DMA
- for health and safety reasons allow patients to access labs to test their own cannabis
- include cultivation licensing provisions for not for profits and small industry who only want to operate and supply cannabis within QLD to Queenslanders - manufacturing licences are already in the Health regulations but may need some more provisions.
- change the DMA to allow low THC hemp to be cultivated and manufactured and supplied as a food - hemp seed oil and CBD hemp oil is available as a food supplement overseas not a scheduled prescription medicine.
NOTE: The Health Regulations and this Bill only apply to cannabis over 2% THC.
State approval is not needed for CBD products ie 2% or less THC but TGA approval is needed, and an import licence and permit if coming from overseas.
