Brogden Says Grow Locally

[Oz]

New South Wales Liberal leader John Brodgen says he does not understand why cannabis for use in a trial to help pain and suffering among terminally ill people would have to be imported from overseas.

 

The Opposition leader has suggested the drug could be grown locally.

 

Premier Bob Carr said that plans for the trial had stalled because of delays with pharmaceutical companies in the UK developing an inhaler, his preferred method of supplying the drug.

 

He has raised the possibility of importing the drug from Canada, where it is already used for medicinal purposes, rather than growing it here.

 

He has written to Prime Minister John Howard, seeking his support.

 

But Mr Brogden says a home-grown solution might make the best economic sense.

 

"We should also trial the most effective way to manufacture and produce that, and that may well be in a very refined laboratory environment, in New South Wales, or somewhere in Australia," he said.

 

By ABC

Date: 13/05/04

Source: ABC

2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation

[Brash]

Mr Carr said today the expert advice was that importing the refined drug from Canada was the "safest and most controlled way of administering a scheme of compassionate cannabis".

Asked whether Australia could develop its own product, the premier said: "Conceivably you could, (but) it would be easier to get a container load from Canada and distribute it according to people who are registered.

Uugh, now we're stuck with the crud the Canadian patients refuse to smoke. You can read 'refined drug' to mean crumbly dried pot with leaf and stalk - what a joke!

[jonbrown]

yeah, stuff that, leave the crud in Canada, but i do agree with Brogden about growing it here, locally. that sounds better than Carrs silly ideas..He is so outt touch with reality, but so is JH,.

[Brash]

We have to remember these are politicians and as such are motivated differently than the rest of the population.

 

My reading of these exchanges is:

 

Carr is hassling John Howard just before he announces the election. Even though Howard has given in principle support to the trial, he didn't mean it (we all know his zero tolerance stance). How will Howard respond? Who knows and frankly who cares,? Hopefully after the next federal election the liberal party will be irrevelant.

 

Brogden is taking the opposite view. If Brogden was serious he would have had a chat with me by now ... not putting tickets on myself but he's had plenty of oportunity, even just to answer some of the regular mail he gets from me. The opposition doesn't even have a policy on medical cannabis yet - an admission to me by the shadow health spokesperson earlier this year.

[livebytheleaf]

they need to chill