Liberal MP to push for medical marijuana

Liberal Warren Entsch wants trials of medical marijuana amid a push for it to be legalised in Australia.

Tikkun Olam medical cannabis farm

Liberal Warren Entsch wants trials of medical marijuana amid a push to be legalised in Australia. (AAP)

Medical marijuana will be used to treat cancer patients if an Abbott government backbencher gets his way.

Queensland MP Warren Entsch is drafting a bill, which he hopes to introduce to parliament in the coming fortnight, to allow for legal trials of cannabis to treat people with cancer, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

If the trials are successful, Mr Entsch says he will introduce further legislation to fully legalise the drug for medical purposes and make it available "like any other life-saving or life-enhancing drugs", he told ABC radio on Tuesday.

But his coalition colleague Kevin Andrews is circumspect.

"We would need to be very careful, very assured, that we're not going to see any more widespread use of marijuana and cannabis than there is at the present time," the social services minister said.


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world