In February 2016, Australia’s government legalized medicinal cannabis in every state and territory. Cannabis remain illegal for recreational use, and there are strict requirements to access marijuana for medical use.
Since 2016, Australia’s medical cannabis business has slowly grown. Production levels ar a far cry from those seen in other countries where the use of medicinal marijuana has been legalized – notably, Canada.
However, Australia is not giving up. The government legalized medicinal cannabis exports this year and, according to Health Minister Greg Hunt, Australia aims to be the world’s top exporter of medicinal cannabis.
Is Australia Going To Dominate The Medical Cannabis Export?
Why would Australia want to be the world’s top exporter of medical marijuana?
The primary reason Australia legalized the export of medical cannabis was because the government wants to ensure that Australians can consistently benefit from the drug’s medicinal properties. It’s final recognition from the Australian government that they’ve recognized the evidence that shows positive results in using cannabis to treat a wide range of diseases. By incentivizing growth and stimulating a more vibrant international trade in cannabis, the government wants to stabilize fledgling cannabis production businesses so there’s always enough to go around at home.
Australia wants to displace the UK as #1 for 2 reasons:
- It maintains domestic supply.
By developing the export market, the government hopes to help domestic marijuana growers and manufacturers to expand their operations. Having bigger and more profitable operations would allow domestic marijuana businesses to develop better quality products.
- It will generate increased investment and more taxes
Financially, medical marijuana exports will bring more investment to the country and will ultimately generate higher taxes for the government. According to research, worldwide demand for medicinal cannabis will increase to $55 billion by 2025 as more studies about its medical effectiveness are conducted.
Actions needed to increase Australia’s cannabis exports
Australia’s Government can learn a lot from the success of those who preceded it in successful cannabis manufacture. There are two basic changes required to get Australia in to a position it can effectively compete..
- More research into the medicinal benefits of cannabis. The discovery of a wider range of cannabidiol’s therapeutic properties, would be a the significant factor in stimulating demand for cannabis-based medicinal products. Cannabis is now available in a host of forms for use in medicinal circumstances; cannabis products are now available as tablets, sprays, lozenges, patches and edibles. Unfortunately, party as a result of marijuana’s illegality, not enough medical evidence exists to explain not only why cannabis is an effective treatment but why it is better than alternatives without the stigma of marijuana.
Over 50 companies in the US are performing medicinal marijuana research in Israel. These companies want to be ready for the incredible business opportunities that are expected as more medical benefits are proven and more states legalize medicinal marijuana.
- Legalize Recreational Cannabis Countries which legalized recreational cannabis have experienced an explosion in the number of manufacturers of the products as entrepreneurs stream in to take a part of a growing, profitable market.When Canada confirmed in 2017 that it would pass a law to legalise recreational marijuana, the number of manufacturers doubled to 80 from about 40 in 2016.
Conclusion
The Australian government wants to be the world’s top producer/ exporter of medical cannabis in order to make sure Aussie patients can get medical cannabis products.
It’s an advantage that Australia has a climate favorable to the growing of marijuana using entirely natural means. Growers in Oz, unlike the UK, don’t need to invest in expensive facilities that consume large amounts of electricity for indoor farming.
Overall, it will be the combined global effort to establish the medicinal benefits of cannabis, and continuing legalization of the drug in countries with similar values to Australia, which will really stimulate the Australian market for its manufacture.
If anything, the key thing being demonstrated is the high level support for the first steps of legalization that are evident in the government. With Canada now allowing the legal sale of recreational cannabis and the 30th US state legalizing medical cannabis sales, it may not be long before the element of government supporting this a pro legalization agenda makes more progress.
References
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- http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/austalia-number-1-medical-marijuana/ (Why Australia’s Government Wants To Be Number 1 In The World For Medical Marijuana)
- http://myfox8.com/2018/01/07/australia-wants-to-be-the-worlds-number-one-supplier-of-medical-marijuana/ (Australia’s Government wants to be the world’s number one supplier of medical marijuana)
- https://cannabis.net/blog/opinion/australia-wants-to-be-1-globally-for-medical-cannabis-what-needs-to-happen (Australia Wants To Be #1 Globally For Medical Cannabis – What Needs To Happen?)
- http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2018-hunt003.htm (Australian Government to allow medicinal cannabis exports)
