Here’s the report, make of it what you will.
When Terry Russell faced crippling, chronic back and leg pain he was prescribed a debilitating dosage of opioids.
“I was on so much OxyContin at one stage, I couldn’t string two thoughts together,” he said.
As an alternative, the 68-year-old tried medicinal cannabis and now takes three small amounts of cannabis oil each day, which he says helps.
“I find it really good for the nerve pain,” he said.
“It’s made a big difference to my life — I’m much more comfortable.”
Mr Russell is one of about 140,000 Australians currently prescribed cannabis by their doctor for medicinal purposes.
The little bottle he picks up from his pharmacy reads “Australian made”, but that doesn’t mean it is made from Australian ingredients.
He felt deceived when he discovered that the cannabis he relies on may not necessarily be grown in Australia or subject to stringent Australian regulations.
“That symbol is there as a guide from the government to say that it is a product that is made and grown here,” Mr Russell said.
“I would expect, and most Australians would expect, that it was sourced here.”
Loophole let-down
ECS Botanics farm manager Nan-Maree Schoerie gave the ABC rare access to the property in northern Victoria, where 40 employees were on site to harvest the crop.
Standing among towering cannabis plants, she said Australian growers worked to strict regulations not seen in other parts of the world.
“There’s a lot of attention to making sure that the product that the customer gets is clean,” Ms Schoerie said.
But under rules enforced by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), medicinal cannabis products sold to Australian consumers can be grown anywhere in the world.
“The ‘Australian made’ claim is about the production process rather than content of a product,” a spokesperson for the Australian Made Campaign told the ABC.
“A product with an ‘Australian made’ label will not necessarily contain Australian ingredients or components.”
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