If in doubt in Australia create another industry body that can pontificate…and boss people about.

Why they even bother providing advice to this current Health minister, especially at a time when all he’s doing is pivoting and working out how he might get re-elected in the upcoming May national election.

Cannabiz report

The Office of Drug Control (ODC) has announced membership for the third tenure of the Australian Advisory Council on the Medicinal Use of Cannabis.

The council, established in 2016, provides advice to the federal health minister on issues relating to the medicinal use of cannabis in accordance with the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 and the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967.

Cannabis, evidence supporting its use for various conditions and patient groups, as well as prescribing guidelines and the Authorised Prescriber and Special Access Scheme schemes.

The council comprises 15 members made up of medical professionals, government representatives, patient groups and legal experts with experience in cancer, epilepsy, palliative care, public health and policy, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, law, pharmacology and toxicology.

Four members from the previous council will continue to serve, including chair Professor James Angus AO. Epilepsy Action Australia CEO Carol Ireland has stepped down after serving two terms.

Appointment of Members for the Third Tenure of the Australian Advisory Council on the Medicinal Use of Cannabis (the Council)

Role

The Australian Advisory Council on the Medicinal Use of Cannabis (the Council) was established in April 2016 and is now entering its third tenure. The Council provides advice to the Minister for Health and Aged Care on issues relating to the medicinal use of cannabis in accordance with the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 and the implementation of the regulatory scheme under the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967.

Objectives

The Council is advisory in nature and will provide advice to the Minister for Health on the following matters:

implementation of the regulatory scheme allowing for the cultivation and manufacture of medicinal cannabis
design of prescribing guidelines and the use of Authorised Prescriber and Special Access Scheme mechanisms allowing for patient access and
evidence supporting the use of medicinal cannabis for a variety of conditions, patient groups and in the most appropriate form.

Membership

The Council comprises of 15 members from various professional backgrounds. These include medical professionals, government representatives, patient groups and law experts.

Within these professional backgrounds members expertise range in the fields of cancer, epilepsy, palliative care, public health and policy, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, law, pharmacology and toxicology.

The term of appointment for the third tenure will be for two years ending 30 June 2023. Four members of Council from the previous tenure, including Professor James Angus AO (in his role of Chair of the Council) will continue to serve in the third tenure. A complete list of Council members is below.

Members

Name	Organisation	Expertise
Chair Professor James Angus AO	Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria Professor Emeritus of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne.	Pharmacology
Professor Terence O’Brien	Chair of Medicine (Neurology) and Head of The Central Clinical School, Monash University, and Program Director Alfred Brain and Deputy Director of Research, Alfred Health.	Epilepsy
Ms Michelle Lynch	National Vice President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia	Pharmaceuticals
Professor Helen Zorbas AO	Chair of the National Breast Cancer Foundation	Cancer
Professor John McMillan AO	Emeritus Professor ANU College of Law	Administrative and Constitutional Law
Dr Meredith Craigie	Specialist Pain Medicine Physician, South Australia Health	Chronic pain
Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent	Victoria Police	Law enforcement
Assistant Commissioner Peter Crozier	Australian Federal Police	Law enforcement
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Emily Kirkpatrick	South Australia Health	Public Health
Associate Professor John Allan	Executive Director of Mental Health Alcohol and other Drugs Branch in Queensland Health.	Psychiatry
Professor Ingrid Scheffer AO	President of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences	Neurology
Professor Avni Sali	Founding Director of the National Institute of Integrative Medicine	Medical Representative
Mr Rohan Greenland	Chief Executive Officer of MS Australia	Consumer Representative
Professor Alison Jones	Director of Medical Education at Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals Group	Toxicology and Health
Associate Professor Vicki Kotsirilos	Adjunct senior lecturer and Adjunct Associate Professor with Monash University, Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine.	Specialist General Practitioner

Meetings

Current and increasing interest in medicinal cannabis in Australia, supports the Council conducting up to four meetings per calendar year, with consideration of out-of-session meetings to address urgent matters concerning medicinal cannabis should they arise. These meetings may be undertaken face-to-face or via videoconference.