Australia makes further inroads to medicinal cannabis use

Australia is continuing to make inroads into the use of medicinal medical marijuana with the announcement of a new trial specifically for children.

In an Australian first, New South Wales (NSW) state will trial a cannabis-based Epidolex drug via the Sydney Children's Hospital for children suffering severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy, with the hopes of rolling out the program to hundreds of families over the next year.

"This is a day we give hope to some of the sickest kids in NSW," NSW Premier Mike Baird told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

Though Epidolex -- a tablet formulation of a non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant -- is still in its final stages of development, it is beginning to yield positive results in other trials around the world, Baird said, despite cautioning it would not work for all patients.

NSW state has been leading Australia's movement into cannabis derived medicine with a variety of treatment trials underway, including one aimed at cancer patients who suffer severe vomiting and nausea during chemotherapy.

Australian companies are already seeing the business potential following the passing of legislation allowing the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal and treatment purposes. Perth-based medical cannabis company AusCann are trialling industrial-grade hemp crops on Christmas Island.

Products such as cannabis oil are used in the treatment of nausea during chemotherapy, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis epilepsy and other neurological conditions in the United States, however, there has been no provision for wide-scale use in Australia.

It's understood that a medical cannabis regulator will be established in Australia in the coming months, issuing licences to growers who conform to strict conditions, including a "fit and proper person" test in a bid to keep criminal elements out of the burgeoning industry. Endit