The federal decision to legalise the growing of weed has been welcomed by campaigners for medical cannabis, but they have also expressed reservations on the proposed system to regulate its use.

Lucy Haslam, a New South Wales mother who lost her son Dan Haslam to cancer in February 2015, praised Health Minister Sussan Ley’s decision to amend the Narcotics Drug Act to permit licenced weed cultivation. However, she raised concerns about the proposal to direct cannabis regulation to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which is responsible for pharmaceutical approvals.

Haslam brought to light the TGA’s reluctance in approving medical marijuana; a complex blend of various chemicals, the effects of which cannot be precisely identified. She also pointed out the delays and extra costs associated with the TGA approach, reports the Financial Review. “We can produce it far more cheaply for people," she said.

Alex Wodak, from St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, said that the cannabis-based drug Sativex for multiple sclerosis,was unaffordable to many people. “At an estimated cost of $800 a month it would be out of reach for most and especially for people who are elderly, frail, ill and have eroded their life savings,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

The committee has called for an independent medical cannabis regulator in Australia that would tackle the Greens bill, tabled in the Senate. The crucial decision will determine whether NSW can go ahead with clinical trials, announced in 2014, for medical cannabis in relieving pain and nausea in chemotherapy patients and epilepsy.

NSW Premier Mike Baird said the cannabis reforms will provide patients suffering from debilitating diseases quick and easy access to medical marijuana. “We'll work with our centre of excellence, with the federal government, to look at what we can do and how quickly we can do it,” he told 9News.

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