2. Good Organic Gardening - March-April 2016

THE GRAPEVINE | News
the grapevine
Environmental news and updates compiled by Jo Immig
High hopes for
medicinal c annabis
The legalisation of medicinal cannabis is one
of those issues we’ll look back on and wonder
why on earth we didn’t do it sooner. How did it
become illegal in the first place? Why did we let
people suffer needlessly?
A recent Australian poll suggests
overwhelming support for medicinal cannabis
with only 3 per cent opposed. It’s now
permitted in numerous countries, including
Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Israel, Finland,
the Netherlands and most US states. Australia
is on the verge of legalising it.
It often takes a profound personal experience
to become open to an idea that, on the face of
it, doesn’t accord with usual beliefs. So it was
for Lucy Haslem, whose terminally ill son, Dan,
found relief from his cancer symptoms using
medicinal cannabis; yet she had to break the law
to buy it for him. In honour of her son’s passing,
and others who are suffering, she’s spearheading
a campaign under the banner United in
Compassion for the legalisation of medicinal
cannabis in Australia. And it’s working.
The Turnbull government has announced
plans to amend legislation to allow the legal
cultivation of cannabis for medicinal and
scientific purposes. The Victorian Law Reform
Commission has made recommendations for
the process to move forward with permitting
medical cannabis for those with exceptional
health circumstances. In NSW the government
pledged $9 million to support cannabis
clinical trials and launched the Terminal Illness
Cannabis Scheme to allow those medically
certified to register for access to the medicine.
The use of cannabis as a medicine dates
back thousands of years. The first recorded
use was by Emperor Shen Neng of China in
2737 BCE. Ancient Hindu texts in India refer
to cannabis as “sacred grass” and Zoroastrian
religious texts refer to it as the “good narcotic”.
It was considered a therapeutic remedy in
Europe during the 1800s and was commonly
used in Western medicine.
Fast-forward to now and the US governmentfunded
National Cancer Institute has released
The use of cannabis as
a medicine dates back
thousands of years. The first
recorded use was by Emperor
Shen Neng of China in 2737
BCE. Ancient Hindu texts
in India refer to cannabis as
“sacred grass” and Zoroastrian
religious texts refer to it as the
“good narcotic”.
a comprehensive review of the effectiveness
of medical cannabis for treating nausea and
vomiting (associated with cancer and cancer
treatments), poor appetite and weight loss
caused by chronic illness, anxiety and insomnia,
seizures and muscle spasms, and pain.
The American Academy of Neurology
supports the use of cannabis administered as
sprays and pills for the treatment of stiffness
suffered by those with multiple sclerosis. While
there’s some laboratory evidence suggesting
cannabis may have antitumor effects, this has
yet to be proven in clinical trials.
Let’s clear up some long-standing confusion.
Cannabis grown for hemp and cannabis grown
for medicinal purposes are different plants.
Hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant with
very low THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the
psychoactive constituent associated with being
“high”. Hemp can still contain varying levels of
other active cannabinoids.
Medicinal cannabis varieties such as indica
and sativa, on the other hand, contain more
than 80 potentially useful cannabinoids,
including higher levels of THC, cannabidiol
(CBD) and cannabinol (CBN), which are all being
investigated for their medicinal properties.
Hemp may have been the first cultivated
agricultural crop and evidence for its use date
back some 10,000 years in Taiwan. Its strong
fibres make durable fabric, paper and rope.
The shipping industry would have been lost
without it for sails and rigging.
King Henry VIII apparently fined farmers if they
didn’t grow industrial hemp and in 17th century
America it was used as legal tender and you could
be jailed for not growing it. So what happened?
Restrictions on hemp cultivation in the
US occurred after a highly successful “reefer
madness” smear campaign, which saw the
introduction of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937,
making it impossible for farmers to grow it
profitably, effectively killing the industry. Industrial
hemp became associated with marijuana and the
confusion was exploited. Other countries were
urged to follow suit and make marijuana illegal,
helping to solidify the global reach of the fossil fuel
industry and its products over hemp.
Hemp seeds are a highly nutritious superfood,
providing quality fats and proteins. Until recently,
hemp cultivation in Australia was illegal, but it
can now be grown under licence, although it’s
still prohibited to make food products from it
for human consumption, which is restricting
the growth of the industry. Hopefully, those
restrictions will soon be lifted.
Cannabis is an environmental boon since it’s
a fast-growing and water-efficient plant that
does well even in poor soils. The future looks
bright for a booming local hemp industry and
many look set to benefit from the legalisation of
medical cannabis. Who knows, maybe one day,
even backyard growing for therapeutic purposes
will be made legal.
Useful websites
United In Compassion:
unitedincompassion.com.au
Terminal Illness Cannabis Scheme:
nsw.gov.au/tics
Victorian Law Reform Commission Review:
lawreform.vic.gov.au/all-projects/
medicinal-cannabis
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