[jabez]

CANNABIS may be a viable cure for chronic pain, but convincing the authorities is proving to be a political minefield for one pioneer.

Tony Bower, founder of Mullaway's Medical Cannabis, has developed a way of accessing the healing qualities of cannabis without the infamous 'side effects' and his weekly Nimbin despensary is fast graining popularity.

It's Saturday morning at Nimbin's Hemp Embassy and it's president, Michael Balderstone, is making us (conventional) tea while we wait for Mr Bower, the most popular man in town. Mr Balderstone says we'll just have to wait.

Following a serious motorcycle accident 30 years ago Mr Bower developed a method to distil a stable tincture of THC (the active component in cannabis) capable of providing effective relief for sufferers of chronic pain, without the often debilitating side-effects associated with prescription painkillers.

Mr Bower has since successfully helped suffers of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and migraines.

In Australia a synthetic cannabinoid known as marinol is available under strict conditions, but Mr Bower says his is better.

He explained that different strains of the plant have different effects, and he has identified the types that are better for therapeutic use.

A court appearance for cultivation of cannabis 12 years ago effectively left him with permission to grow up to 49 plants for personal use, but now demand for his product means he needs to grow more and licensing is proving ploblematical.

The Federal Police have told him to 'get a legal framework around it,' but the bureaucratic toing-and-froing between the Therapeutic Goods Administration and NSW Health has left him in legal no-man's-land.

"I think I'm too hot tohandle. Every time I line up a university to do the necessary tests there's pressure from above to shut it down," Mr Bower said.

His solicitor, Debra Sands, believes NSW Health is baulking and intends to take the case to the Supreme Court.

http://www.northerns...-back-research/

This post has been edited by jabez: 08 February 2010 - 10:31 PM

[ref1ect1ons]

woah he can grow plants in aus.
second, universities have long been places of indoctrination and not of learning.
Sad when scientist bow to politics and sacrifice their quest for truth.

This isnt the first time postive findings about weed have been covered up.

[naja naja]

Quote

A court appearance for cultivation of cannabis 12 years ago effectively left him with permission to grow up to 49 plants for personal use, but now demand for his product means he needs to grow more and licensing is proving ploblematical.

The Federal Police have told him to 'get a legal framework around it,' but the bureaucratic toing-and-froing between the Therapeutic Goods Administration and NSW Health has left him in legal no-man's-land.

I really don't understand this. How does getting charged for cannabis leave u with permission to grow 49 plants? Thats just insane, nice judge though. And why is he treated diff to sum1 selling hash? A class A compund? This is truely baffeling! The TGA has told him to get a frame work? This dude must be able to pull sum strings and have friends in very high places!

[jabez]

It completely flipped me out when I first heard about this, I always thought it was just common knowledge that no one in Australia was legally permitted to use herbal cannabis for medical purposes. Yet here's someone who's been allowed to for 12 years, wtf! Makes you wonder how much other people out there have permission to grow? And more importantly, what do you need to do to get permission?

If you have a letter from your doctor stating you suffer from a list of conditions then you can go to nimbin on the weekends and get some of mullaways tincture for free. Aparently he informed the police that he was going to do it and they haven't tried to stop him.

Tell ya what, it'll be good to see if his in your face tactic is a bit more productive for drug law reform in Australia, rather than the hide in the shadows and hope they don't notice tactic that most Australians seem to take.

[C_T]

it'd only work in nimbin...

[Slybacon]

RE - 49 plants.

Thats the amount KOG suggests in his DVD.

[ref1ect1ons]

I just heard about michael jacksons drug list before he died. So many dangerous drugs.
And yet if he had taken a simple herb he would still be alive, sleeping well, pain free and eating well. It whats more he would be happy probably playing xbox or something.

[FancyPants]

^^^ And where would MJ's stooges be if he didn't want to work - and earn money for the grubs - because he was couchlocked eating cereal and watching Disney movies?

He obviously "got away with it" because he showed the judge he was using for pain relief. They wouldn't have blasted that verdict all over the papers for fear of copying. Good on him! Damn I wished I knew that when I was up there recently.

[C_T]

i bet he grows outdoors too, no hydro setup.

[ThunderIdeal]

Slybacon, on 09 February 2010 - 09:12 AM, said:

RE - 49 plants.

Thats the amount KOG suggests in his DVD.

exactly what i was thinking. what was the reasoning? to evade a higher-level charge with a longer sentence?