Victorians would be free to smoke and grow marijuana if a push by the Sex Party to legalise the drug is successful.

On Wednesday, Sex Party MP Fiona Patten will introduce a motion to the upper house calling on the government to immediately remove criminal sanctions for the possession, use and cultivation of marijuana for personal use by people 18 and older.

The motion will also urge the government to allow the drug to be grown by farmers, which would create an additional revenue source through taxation. 

She will move the motion in a bid to force the major parties to debate the legalisation of cannabis. The matter is set for debate on September 14.

LICENSED farmers will soon be able to buy and sell marijuana seed under strict controls after enabling legislation was introduced into State Parliament.

Agriculture Minister Leanne Donaldson said the amendments to the Drug Misuse Act will allow farmers to join the supply chain and will create new opportunities for agriculture.

There are already a small number of Queensland farmers able to grow industrial hemp, which has very low levels of the cannabinoid that gives the high.

According to the Government those farmers have developed seed lines which could be beneficial to medicinal marijuana growers.

Mrs Donaldson said existing laws did not allow those hemp growers to sell the seed.

THE FIRST clue was the tour operator, who gleefully rubbed his hands together when I told him I was going to Nimbin.

“Ooh, naughty, naughty Nimbin,” he said with a thick British accent that made him sound like a character from Harry Potter.

It was my first trip to Byron Bay, a holiday town on the far north coast of New South Wales, and I was keen to check out the sights. I was trying to decide between kayaking with dolphins or horseback riding on the beach when someone suggested I take a day trip.

He said Nimbin was a cute town, with really amazing waterfalls along the way, and the tour included a barbecue lunch. For me, the equation is simple: waterfalls + food = yes please.

A CANCER sufferer convicted of growing thousands of dollars worth of drugs that he claimed were for pain relief may become one of the first in the state to serve a prison term at home.

Darryl Colin Horne, 56, was found with several marijuana plants and dried cannabis worth up to $30,000 in his Salisbury house, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, in April 2013.

While prosecutors accused him of preparing the almost 6kg of drugs for sale, the father of one insisted during his District Court trial that it was instead used for “medicinal” purposes.

We all know growing plants can be a tedious and time-consuming task, but patience always delivers the biggest and most potent flowers. Victoria’s State Premier, Daniel Andrews visited the Australian state’s secret cannabis compound, a routine stop he makes to check on the well-being and growth of the country’s first-ever legal medical cannabis crop.

After a quick inspection, Andrews noted that the sprouts were finally large enough to move on to the next phase of cultivation. The existing plants will be trimmed down, with the trimmings being planted to begin growing new plants; a great way to extend their budding cannabis garden.

New father Tristin Jones*, 35, has smoked marijuana for so long that it was the only way he felt normal.

Mr Jones, who has smoked weed every day for 17 years, had promised to quit at every major milestone in his life, including when he turned 30 and after his son was born 18 months ago. But he couldn't. And he didn't. 

Mr Jones was also worried about being caught by police during random drug testing, or about having a car accident with cannabis still in his system.

He mostly wanted to be drug free to enjoy the highs and lows of raising a child. 

"When my child grows up, I would want him to be proud of who I am, not thinking that I am a pothead. And I want to be emotionally and mentally available," he told Fairfax Media.

A VICTORIAN couple to be tried over supplying medicinal cannabis to the chronically ill have objected to charges against them being dropped.

Matthew and Elizabeth Pallett, of Carrum Downs, are due to face trial in the County Court in October for cultivating the illegal crop.

The pair, who are defending themselves, have formally pleaded not guilty to the claims.

But Mr Pallett this morning voiced displeasure at the prosecutors’ decision to drop trafficking and possession charges, to the amusement of Judge Mark Taft.

Mr Pallett said he and his wife had wished to call witnesses on the basis of the original set of allegations.

Medicinal cannabis supporters argue the drug eases suffering of patients all over the world and its safe use is dependent on practitioner support.

IT is with extreme disappointment that I read the opinion piece by Dr Jenny Martin ('Putting ice on hype over medicinal marijuana’, Herald, 12/8).

I am not a medical practitioner, but I have better knowledge than most on the medical benefits of cannabis for patients in extreme distress after watching my 25-year-old son succumb to bowel cancer last year. 

The rush to act on medical cannabis is driven by thousands of Australians, just like Dan, who do not have sufficient outcomes with pharmaceuticals and may turn to illicit cannabis as a matter of last resort. 

Medical life science company, Medlab Clinical Limited (ASX:MDC), has signed a significant cannabis supply agreement with Canadian licenced producer of medical marijuana, Aphria Inc. (TSX VENTURE:APH)(OTCQB:APHQF). Cannabis plant species, yields and a novel extraction process have been established in collaboration between Medlab and Aphria, allowing Aphria to produce for Medlab in a large scale supply.

The combination of the two most known cannabis extracts required by Medlab, CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), produces in excess of 70 per cent active ingredient for both compounds, making it one of the most potent compounds known.

Australian researchers have launched a study into whether the backyard use of cannabis-based extracts really does help children with severe epilepsy.

Families have reported dramatic benefits with small doses of oils and liquid extracts derived from cannabis. These are often taken on top of conventional antiepileptic drugs.

Researchers at the Lambert Initiative, in partnership with Epilepsy Action Australia, today launched the PELICAN study (Paediatric Epilepsy Lambert Initiative Cannabinoid Analysis).