WESTERN Australia will not join NSW in medicinal cannabis trials despite both Queensland and Victoria signing up to the research.
THE three eastern states have agreed to decriminalise the drug for trials involving patients with epilepsy, end-of-life pain and chemotherapy-related nausea.
But WA Health Minister Kim Hames said research needed to be done on a national scale. “There’s no point all states doing the same sorts of trials at the same time, so WA is waiting on the results of the NSW trials as agreed last year,” Dr Hames said on Sunday. “If other states want to do their own trials, that’s fine. “WA has offered our support to other states and we are keen to see the outcomes of the research being undertaken.” WA Premier Colin Barnett has previously indicated he could support medicinal marijuana being given to patients in palliative care but maintained it was a very damaging drug. Opposition Leader Mark McGowan announced WA Labor’s plan to legalise cannabis for medicinal use at the state branch’s annual conference in July last year.