The Turnbull government will introduce a national scheme to legalise medicinal cannabis by licensing growers next year, which could pave the way for a local industry.
Health Minister Sussan Ley said on Wednesday that the government had drafted legislation to establish a single scheme for growers in all states and territories, which would be introduced in Parliament's first sitting fortnight next year.
Ms Ley had previously said she would introduce a law before the end of this year to allow the states and territories to licence growers in their own jurisdictions.
She changed her mind after consulting with state and territory governments and law enforcement agencies. Victoria and NSW state governments have indicated they want to legalise medicinal cannabis, and are waiting on a federal regulatory scheme to do so. Queensland announced in October it would begin a trial of medicinal cannabis for children with severe epilepsy and multiple sclerosis next year.
"I am confident creating one single, nationally-consistent cultivation scheme, rather than eight individual arrangements, will not only help speed up the legislative process, but ultimately access to medicinal cannabis products as well," Ms Ley said.
She did not expect the change to delay parliamentary debate on the legislation "early next year".
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten pledged in October that a Labor government would establish a national scheme on medicinal cannabis after the next election.
It is unclear whether the scheme will attract enough support in the Senate, as it still differs significantly from the Greens' model to create a new national regulator that would oversee the growth, manufacture and distribution of medicinal cannabis.
It is currently illegal to grow and import most medicinal cannabis products, leading some patients to buy them from the black market and run the risk of prosecution for drug use and possession.
Advocates have said that regulating medicinal cannabis for certain health conditions will pave the way for a safe, sustainable local industry and allow more research to be done on the quality of different products.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale said that the announcement was a "missed opportunity" because it dealt only with cultivation, without addressing patients' access to medicinal cannabis.
"Doctors should be able to prescribe cannabis and patients should be able to collect it from the pharmacy, like any other medication," he said.
Senator Di Natale last year introduced a separate bill to establish an independent regulator. He had planned to push ahead with the bill in November after a multi-party Senate committee unanimously endorsed it, but held off doing so after the government announced its own initial plan for regulating medicinal cannabis days later.
"We were assured that the government was taking action, but an announcement to do half the job at some time in the never-never is a huge disappointment for those people who are suffering and need urgent access to effective medication," Senator Di Natale said. "The Turnbull government is condemning users of medicinal cannabis to another Christmas as criminals."
Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the state would continue to push ahead with planned state laws to establish a cannabis "cultivation trial" next week, ahead of any national regulatory scheme: "Given the Commonwealth's timelines on this continue to change, we are not prepared to delay the introduction of our legislation at the expense of the Victorian families and children that are desperately awaiting this much need reform."
