What Would You Do If It Was Your Child?

More than a decade ago, this petition began with a simple goal: to allow seriously ill Australians legal access to medicinal cannabis.

At the time, patients and their families were often forced to choose between breaking the law and watching a loved one suffer without access to treatment that may have helped them.

Many of you joined this campaign because you believed that needed to change.

Together, we helped change the national conversation.

And eventually, Australia changed the law.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Australians have accessed medicinal cannabis through lawful pathways. For many people living with chronic pain, epilepsy, cancer-related symptoms, multiple sclerosis, PTSD and other serious conditions, medicinal cannabis has become an important treatment option when conventional therapies have failed, caused intolerable side effects, or simply did not provide adequate relief.

That progress should not be forgotten.

But legalisation was never the destination.

It was only the beginning.

Recently, former New South Wales Premier Mike Baird generously wrote the following words in support of my forthcoming book, Fragile Wings of Hope:

"Lucy tells a story that is about a mother's love for her son, overcoming impossible odds and fighting for those in need of compassionate care. The question every politician should answer is what would you do if it was your child?It is not too late to act, and my hope is this book restarts a national conversation that is well overdue."

I believe those words capture the moment Australia now faces.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration is currently reviewing Australia's medicinal cannabis framework. That review presents an important opportunity to consider what has worked, what has not, and how the system can be improved for the future.

There are undoubtedly issues that require attention.

Concerns about poor prescribing practices, commercial conflicts of interest and inappropriate marketing by some businesses deserve careful scrutiny. Patients should expect safe, ethical and evidence-based medical care, and regulators have an important role in protecting the public.

But reform should not lose sight of the people the system exists to serve.

We have been here before.

For many years, stigma, misunderstanding and outdated assumptions prevented seriously ill Australians from accessing treatment that may have improved their quality of life.

We should be careful not to replace one set of barriers with another.

The overwhelming majority of medicinal cannabis patients are not seeking intoxication.

They are seeking relief from suffering under the care of their doctors.

The challenge now is not whether medicinal cannabis should exist within Australia's healthcare system.

The challenge is how to build a system that is safe, proportionate, evidence-informed and patient-centred.

That means:

·         supporting ethical prescribing while addressing genuine conflicts of interest;

·         improving education for doctors and other healthcare professionals;

·         recognising the valuable contribution that real-world evidence, patient-reported outcomes and clinical experience can make alongside traditional research;

·         ensuring that cost does not prevent patients from accessing treatment when it is clinically appropriate;

·         addressing the unique challenges faced by veterans and their families.

·         tackling the ongoing inconsistency of drug-driving laws that continue to affect many legitimate patients across Australia; and

·         continuing to support high-quality research that strengthens our understanding of medicinal cannabis and its appropriate use.

The goal should not be to make medicinal cannabis easier to prescribe.

Nor should it be to make it harder to prescribe.

The goal should be to ensure that decisions are guided by evidence, clinical judgement, patient safety and compassion.

Good regulation protects patients.

It does not punish them.

As I explain in Fragile Wings of Hope, the story of medicinal cannabis reform did not end when the law changed.

In many ways, that was simply the end of the first chapter.

The question that first inspired this campaign remains as important today as it was all those years ago.

What would you do if it was your child?

What would you do if it was your partner, your parent, your sibling or your friend?

As Australia considers the future of medicinal cannabis regulation, I hope that question remains at the centre of the discussion.

Because behind every policy debate, every regulatory decision and every headline are real people seeking relief from suffering and the opportunity to live fuller, better lives.

Thank you for standing beside patients and their families throughout this journey.

Together, we helped change the law.

Now let us work together to ensure we get the next chapter right.

On what would have been Dan's 37th Birthday, I make this update, launch the book Dan inspired called Fragile Wings of Hope and urge Australia to insist on better acceptance and treatment of medicinal cannabis patients. 

It really is time to #FixDansLaw