Herbal remedy maker Blackmores has defended its move into the medicinal cannabis market after the NSW government excluded it from a lucrative clinical trial and implied that it was producing low-quality "street marijuana."
As the idea of medicinal cannabis gains broader acceptance here and overseas, the tiff highlights a bigger political and medical split between those who want access limited to high-priced patented cannabis compounds available by prescription and those who want a less rigorous regime similar to complementary medicines.Â
NSW Health Research minister Pru Goward this week signed a $3.1 million memorandum of understanding with GW Pharmaceuticals Plc to conduct clinical trials of medicinal cannabis for the treatment of epilepsy in children.
Asked why she had chosen the British firm over local cannabis suppliers, Ms Goward told ABC radio that she had no choice.Â
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