The Sunshine Coast is perfectly placed to become the home of medical marijuana production for the nation, according to a Queensland MP.
Member for Buderim Steve Dickson said he believed the Sunshine Coast provided the perfect environmental conditions to be a leader in growing and manufacturing medicinal cannabis in Australia.
![The economic benefits of medicinal marijuana have been examined, with new laws passing Queensland parliament.](/web/20161016024703im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/h/9/t/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gs1ecg.png/1476345002368.jpg)
It comes as legislation to allow patients to access medicinal cannabis was passed on Wednesday night.
The Public Health (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill 2016 provides a pathway for Queensland patients of any age and with a range of conditions to access legal medicinal cannabis products.
But Mr Dickson told parliament he did not agree that the government should be responsible for obtaining a licence to cultivate and manufacture medicinal cannabis.
The committee that examined the bill recommended that the Queensland government "prioritise its investigation of options for obtaining a licence to cultivate and manufacture medicinal cannabis in Queensland".
"I am sure there is enough interest from the private sector to cultivate and manufacture cannabis in Queensland," Mr Dickson said.
Mr Dickson told parliament he wrote to every state MP seeking their support to ensure patients have access to medicinal cannabis in 2015.
"I was appalled to learn in 2015, and still now in 2016, Queenslanders have to turn to black market options to find relief from a range of debilitating and life-threatening conditions," Mr Dickson said.
Health Minister Cameron Dick said the cultivation and manufacture of medicinal cannabis products in Queensland offered the potential to improve patient access to the products and create agricultural and business opportunities for the state.
"This is an industry with real potential and one I consider we should promote in Queensland," Mr Dick said.
"We hope that as this industry develops locally a range of medicinal cannabis products will become available at affordable prices".
Member for Gaven Sid Cramp also pointed out the "real opportunity for Queensland to not only supply medicinal cannabis for our state, but also provide it for national and international markets for any countries seeking this product".
While member for Toowoomba South David Janetzki said a "small but tightly controlled Queensland industry that would bring about opportunities for primary producers and regional communities is possible".
He pointed to a Sydney University Business School study that stated that legalising medicinal cannabis in Australia may build an industry worth $150 million per year.
Member for Nudgee Leanne Linard told parliament that eight years ago, while caring for her mother, who was suffering with wasting and acute pain from late stage ovarian cancer, her mother read about the potential benefits of medicinal cannabis in providing palliative relief.
"She, like many cancer sufferers and palliative care patients, was on a significant dose of schedule 8 drugs, which did not for her adequately mask her pain and resultantly she suffered," Ms Linard said.
"I do not know if medicinal cannabis would have brought her some relief.
"She did not have the opportunity to benefit from the bill before the House, but I hope others will."
The use of cannabis without the appropriate approvals will continue to be illegal in Queensland.
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