There are some defining moments in your life that determine your values and change your future direction. It is hard to believe, but last week marks the sixth anniversary of my son Dan’s death from bowel cancer. He was just 25 years old.

Today, can you send an email in your own words to your federal MP, and ask them to please advocate for the life-changing reforms we need to fix the Medicinal Cannabis system?

Last week also marks five years since Medicinal Cannabis was legalised in Australia and is close to one year since the release of the Senate Inquiry recommendations into the barriers to patient access. That is one whole year of the Government ignoring the pleas for help from thousands of patients who are still having difficulty accessing cannabis medicines.

Several years ago you took action to sign Dan’s petition to encourage the Government to consider legalising medicinal cannabis in Australia. It is important that you realise that even though medicinal cannabis has been legalised, the system is still failing many thousands of patients. The Government is allowing that to happen. Sometimes it feels as though the system was set up to fail.

Please, click here to write to your MP and ask them to fix our broken medicinal cannabis system.

Last week I wrote a heartfelt letter to our Prime Minister to ask him why the Government is ignoring those recommendations which could enable changes to the cost of cannabis medicines for people like children with intractable epilepsy and veteran’s with PTSD just to name a couple. Those recommendations would also see a greater effort being put into the education of the Health workforce.

I am doing my bit in Dan’s memory. That medicinal cannabis was legalised in the first place is thanks to him and his advocacy. Now, I need to honour his legacy by making sure his hard work, made even harder by his doing it while battling terminal cancer, was not in vain.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2021 United in Compassion Australian Medicinal Cannabis Symposium to try and help support patients via actively providing access to education on medicinal cannabis.

It’s a big program with educational opportunities around Industry, education of Health Care Professionals provided by Internationally recognised experts and researchers. Our main focus now must be on promoting patient access through education of the workforce. We desperately need to educate health professionals about medicinal cannabis.

Please, will you take a few minutes to write to your MP and help them see why we need to fix the medicinal cannabis mess?

All of this is for Dan, and the thousands of Australians who desperately need to access this medicine.

Thank you,

Lucy Haslam

Dan's Mum.