ACON has welcomed a recommendation from an NSW parliamentary committee to allow medical use of cannabis for people with terminal illnesses and AIDS.

The recommendation was announced today in a report from the NSW Legislative Council Select Committee inquiry into the use of cannabis for medical purposes

ACON, NSW’s largest community-based HIV and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender health organisation, made a joint submission to the inquiry with other HIV-related community organisations and ACON’s CEO Nicolas Parkhill appeared before the inquiry in support of the submission.

“Members of our communities experience a range of health issues such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis or other conditions which can induce various levels of pain or discomfort,” Mr Parkhill says.

“Research shows that cannabis can be effective in reducing pain and ACON supports the availability of cannabis for medical use.

“We welcome the committee’s recommendation to allow medical use of cannabis for people with terminal illness and AIDS and congratulate them on taking a practical and compassionate approach to this issue.”

ACON addressed the issue of costs, making it clear that any program in place needs to be economically viable for people who are already dealing with costly treatments and costs associated with disabilities they may already have.

ACON also stated that they hope that if a legalisation scheme would go ahead there would be sufficient community education complementing this scheme to ensure people understood what the changes meant.