Dear supporters, finally some good news on the medicinal Cannabis front with the Government’s disallowance of cannabis access to the terminally ill, (through the pathway set up to recognise the urgency of their end of life condition) overturned in the Senate. Sadly, the Health Minister immediately stated that the Government “will not accept this” and you can be sure that they will continue their scare campaign which mocks the terminally ill and would have us believe that they are just looking to import “suitcases” full of weed into the country for the fun of it. When will our Government recognise that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is looking after the interests of the pharmaceutical industry which will clearly loose “customers” when “patients” are able to legally swap their expensive pharmaceuticals for a medicine which many patients describe as empowering and miraculous? That was certainly Dan’s experience and one which is repeated with astonishing regularity in every country around the globe. The UIC 2017 Medicinal Cannabis Symposium is now just over a week away. The TGA has pulled out after an earlier commitment to come and give and update and be available for questions (and there are many!) but the event will go on in. It really is time to get past the hysteria of the reefer madness campaign and accept the science that is emerging around the world. We owe this to our loved ones who continue to suffer more than they should. This is about facts, science, research, and compassion. It is time to stop ignoring the elephant in the room. Minister Hunt you need to understand that the harder you make it for patients to access the medicine of their choice, the more people you keep in harm’s way, getting medicine on the black market and without the care and support of the health system. Thanks for your continued support Lucy For information on the symposium and for bookings to this event and the 1st Medicinal Cannabis Course for doctors go to www.uic.org.au