Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
For grandfather Barry Lambert this is personal.
Cannabis oil from the hemp plants grown in this Hunter Valley crop have been sent to Sydney University for the past year to study in search of a treatment for epilepsy and other conditions.
Mr Lambert, a retired financial services billionaire made history last year by donating $33.7 million to Sydney University to set up The Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics.
It was a deeply personal donation because Mr Lambert's granddaughter suffers a rare form of epilepsy that could kill her.
Now the legacy he hoped to put in place is under threat by law changes as the federal government attempts to control medicinal cannabis.
Mr Lambert said the licensed supplier of the cannabis oil, Ecofibre, will no longer be allowed to supply the university after October 31 because it will then be classified as industrial hemp, not medicinal cannabis.
Industrial hemp has low concentrations of THC, marijuana's active psychotropic component. Cannabis grown for medicinal purposes will be required to be grown in glass houses.
Mr Lambert said the resultant production costs will make an affordable drug expensive.
"Imagine the cost of bread and resultant social unrest if we had to grow wheat in a glass house because someone might use it to make alcohol."
Mr Lambert, who is also an investor in Ecofibre, said Sydney University will have to source cannabinoids elsewhere.
Last month the state government announced it had been given approval by the Commonwealth to conduct cultivation research which would form the basis of future non-government crops.
The crop will be grown in a $2 million green house at an undisclosed location.
Mr Lambert's four-year-old granddaughter Katelyn suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy which leads to up to 1400 seizures a day. Her father Michael is treating her with medicinal cannabis.
Last year Michael was charged with cultivating cannabis to help his daughter. He faces court next month.
Ecofibre chief executive Eric Wang said hemp, which they grow in three sites across Australia including the Hunter Valley, still had about 100 useful cannabinoids that could be used for medicine.
Mr Wang said hemp had been caught up in the newly established Office of Drug Control licensing guidelines.
"Industrial hemp doesn't have any narcotic value. If you grow marijuana yes, people can steal it, but we've been caught up in this," he said.
Although a spokeswoman for the Health Department said "no directions or decisions have been undertaken at this time for the cultivation requirements for cannabis," Mr Wang said the Office of Drug Control (ODC) informed growers of the changes in public consultation sessions held last week through Australia.
According to the ODC website, hemp crops and medicinal cannabis crops will have to "maintain strict separation between the two crops".
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Law Changes Jeopardise Program Grandfather Gave Millions Towards
Author: Jane Hansen
Contact: The Daily Telegraph
Photo Credit: Justin Sullivan
Website: The Daily Telegraph
Cannabis oil from the hemp plants grown in this Hunter Valley crop have been sent to Sydney University for the past year to study in search of a treatment for epilepsy and other conditions.
Mr Lambert, a retired financial services billionaire made history last year by donating $33.7 million to Sydney University to set up The Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics.
It was a deeply personal donation because Mr Lambert's granddaughter suffers a rare form of epilepsy that could kill her.
Now the legacy he hoped to put in place is under threat by law changes as the federal government attempts to control medicinal cannabis.
Mr Lambert said the licensed supplier of the cannabis oil, Ecofibre, will no longer be allowed to supply the university after October 31 because it will then be classified as industrial hemp, not medicinal cannabis.
Industrial hemp has low concentrations of THC, marijuana's active psychotropic component. Cannabis grown for medicinal purposes will be required to be grown in glass houses.
Mr Lambert said the resultant production costs will make an affordable drug expensive.
"Imagine the cost of bread and resultant social unrest if we had to grow wheat in a glass house because someone might use it to make alcohol."
Mr Lambert, who is also an investor in Ecofibre, said Sydney University will have to source cannabinoids elsewhere.
Last month the state government announced it had been given approval by the Commonwealth to conduct cultivation research which would form the basis of future non-government crops.
The crop will be grown in a $2 million green house at an undisclosed location.
Mr Lambert's four-year-old granddaughter Katelyn suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy which leads to up to 1400 seizures a day. Her father Michael is treating her with medicinal cannabis.
Last year Michael was charged with cultivating cannabis to help his daughter. He faces court next month.
Ecofibre chief executive Eric Wang said hemp, which they grow in three sites across Australia including the Hunter Valley, still had about 100 useful cannabinoids that could be used for medicine.
Mr Wang said hemp had been caught up in the newly established Office of Drug Control licensing guidelines.
"Industrial hemp doesn't have any narcotic value. If you grow marijuana yes, people can steal it, but we've been caught up in this," he said.
Although a spokeswoman for the Health Department said "no directions or decisions have been undertaken at this time for the cultivation requirements for cannabis," Mr Wang said the Office of Drug Control (ODC) informed growers of the changes in public consultation sessions held last week through Australia.
According to the ODC website, hemp crops and medicinal cannabis crops will have to "maintain strict separation between the two crops".
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Law Changes Jeopardise Program Grandfather Gave Millions Towards
Author: Jane Hansen
Contact: The Daily Telegraph
Photo Credit: Justin Sullivan
Website: The Daily Telegraph
