Australia Legalizes Medical Marijuana

Between its outlaw image, controversial legal status and complex makeup — the cannabis plant contains more than 400 individual chemicals — marijuana’s action in the brain and body is in many ways a mystery. The vast majority of studies on the drug have examined potential harm, as opposed to potential benefits. Even so, some medical uses are widely accepted and others are the subject of serious research. Here’s a look at some potential uses of marijuana as medicine. (PHOTO CREDIT: Pablo Porciuncula / AFP / Getty Images)

The Australian Parliament passed a measure Wednesday legalizing medical marijuana.

The amendments to the Narcotic Drugs Act will allow cannabis to be legally grown for medical and scientific purposes for the first time in Australia.

“This is an historic day for Australia and the many advocates who have fought long and hard to challenge the stigma around medicinal cannabis products so genuine patients are no longer treated as criminals,” Minister for Health Sussan Ley said in a statement.

“This is the missing piece in a patient’s treatment journey and will now see seamless access to locally-produced medicinal cannabis products from farm to pharmacy.”

The decision came exactly a year after 25-year-old Daniel Haslam lost his life to terminal bowel cancer. Haslam used medical marijuana to ease his pain and nausea before he died last February.

His mother, Lucy, started a medical cannabis advocacy group called United in Compassion and petitioned for the government to make it legal.

Australian Sen. Richard Di Natale brought up Haslam’s story before Parliament on Wednesday.

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SOURCE: CNN, Christina Zdanowicz