Medical cannabis is legal in Australia—but for too many people, it might as well not be. The process is buried in red tape, the cost is sky-high, and doctors are hesitant to prescribe it due to a maze of approvals. That’s not good enough.
People living with cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy, PTSD, and terminal illness have found real relief through medicinal cannabis—often when nothing else works. But unlike powerful opioids like morphine, medical cannabis isn’t covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). That leaves many Australians with bills in the hundreds or thousands just to manage symptoms like pain, nausea, or anxiety.
We need to bring some honesty and common sense back to this conversation.
One reason medical cannabis hasn’t made it onto the PBS is that it doesn’t fit neatly into the pharmaceutical industry’s model. Cannabis is a plant—it contains dozens of active compounds, not just one patented molecule. That makes it harder to run the kind of narrow, standardised trials the PBS system relies on. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. It just means it doesn’t work the same way as a lab-developed pill.
And that’s part of the problem: you can’t patent a plant. So big pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to fund the trials or push for access. Instead of a system built around patients, we end up with one built around profit. The result? Patients either pay enormous costs, jump through hoops, or go without.
If elected as your independent representative for Wide Bay, I will fight for:
- Expanded access to medical cannabis for people with chronic or terminal illness.
- PBS coverage for appropriate forms of medicinal cannabis—so no one is priced out of relief.
- A simpler, faster process for doctors to prescribe it—especially in rural and regional areas.
This isn’t a fringe issue. It’s not left-wing or right-wing. It’s about fairness, dignity, and doing what works. We already fund powerful drugs like morphine through the PBS. Medical cannabis deserves the same consideration—especially when it helps people live with less pain and more peace.
Patients shouldn’t be punished because their medicine grows from the ground. Doctors shouldn’t be afraid to help. And big corporations shouldn’t decide who gets to feel better.
Let’s fix this. Let’s make medical cannabis fair, affordable, and available.
Casey for Wide Bay 