Bill Shorten has been questioned, by a rather feisty member of the audience, about his stance of the current (and highly ineffective) medicinal cannabis system in Australia.
At a gathering for a few members of the Labor Party in Western Australia, one audience member stood up and voiced her displease with the current processing of medicinal cannabis applications in Australia.
She claims cannabis users are the largest and most discriminated minority in the country, which did garner a bit of a chuckle from other attendees. Going on to call the current system a disgrace and wondering what Bill Shorten would be doing to fix it.
Bill agreed, citing the government is going so slowly, comparing their speed to an Au Pair, garnering more than a bit of a chuckle from the audience.
Also mentioning that if he had a loved one in great pain and the doctor, himself, and the one in pain (if they were an adult), all formed the view that cannabis oil would help in relieving the paid, he’d break the law to get it.
He was quick to backtrack, re-wording his phrase and changing it to “I’d be tempted to break the law”.
On top of that, he mentioned Canada has a far better system than the Therapeutic Goods Administration – calling it too long and too cumbersome.
Here is the transcript of his response to the question:
The TGA system in Australia makes it almost impossible, and I’m not talking about legalising weed and all that…[I’m talking] about medicinal cannabis.
If I’m a parent, if my child had epileptic fits of a severe nature, or if I had a loved one who was in great pain and the treating doctor and I formed the view, and the patient formed the view whether they’re an adult, that cannabis oil would be of assistance in relieving the pain…I would break the law.
And why should any parent be put in the position of being a criminal..we’ll I’ll be tempted to break the law..we’d just change the law. Parents shouldn’t be made criminals if they want to alleviate the pain of their children.
I think Canada’s got a much better system…the TGA process is too long, too cumbersome…so that’s where were coming from.
You don’t have to convince me that medicinal cannabis is not something dodgy or suspicious, I accept I meet too many parents, I’ve spoken to too many doctors who think that there can be a useful part of treatment and therefore that’s the way we should treat the people seeking the law reform.
The government’s done a little bit but they just go so slowly and…it makes you wonder if it was an Au Pair……