Cannabis was high on Australia’s regulatory agenda in September, with two significant developments. In our last post we discussed the tabling of Professor John McMillan AO’s Final Report in Parliament on 5 September 2019, which recommended extensive amendments to the regime for cultivation, production and manufacture of medicinal cannabis in Australia. In this post we discuss the move to legalise the personal possession and use of small amounts of cannabis in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). On 25 September 2019,…

Executive summary Professor John McMillan AO’s Final Report of the review of Australia’s medicinal cannabis framework under the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 (Cth) (ND Act) was tabled in Parliament on 5 September 2019, ahead of the 29 October 2019 target date. A link to the Final Report is here. The review was conducted on the extensive amendments made to the ND Act in 2016, which established a regime for the cultivation, production and manufacture of medicinal cannabis in Australia. The…

Executive summary In October 2016, a regulatory framework was established for the cultivation and production of cannabis plants in Australia under the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 (Cth) (ND Act), with the objective to enable the sustainable and safe supply of medicinal cannabis products. The regime is currently under review by the Commonwealth Office of Drug Control (ODC), with a final report expected to be released on 29 October 2019. In advance of this final report, set out below is the…