The Cancer Council says legalising medicinal cannabis will be a huge relief for Hunter cancer patients.

The Federal Government has announced it will legalise the growing of the drug to help those suffering from debilitating illnesses.

The council's Hunter regional manager Shayne Connell said he hopes patients are delayed no further.

"It helps us to get around one of the big issues that we have had since about 1999 which is, 'how do we supply this in a way that's safe, is regulated and in the best interest of patients?" he said.

"So by doing that, and by alleviating some of that stress for local cancer patients, we are hopeful that this is another positive step in the right direction to have access to this treatment."

The Turnbull government wants to make it legal to grow medicinal cannabis in Australia this year.

Health Minister Sussan Ley said on Friday she was finalising changes to the Narcotics Drugs Act to allow cannabis to be grown for medicinal and scientific purposes.

Victoria and NSW state governments have indicated they want to legalise medicinal cannabis, and are waiting on a federal regulatory scheme to do so.

Health Minister Sussan Ley Photo: Andrew Meares

The Federal Government has announced it will legalise the growing of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

She said she had been moved by stories of people who got some relief from medicinal cannabis, sometimes legally imported but not always.Health Minister Sussan Ley said the Government wants to give people suffering from debilitating illnesses access to the most effective medical treatments.

"I have heard stories of patients who have resorted to illegal methods of obtaining cannabis and I have felt for them, because with a terminal condition, the most important thing is quality of life and relief of pain," she told AM.

"And we know that many people are calling out for medicinal cannabis.

Medically-prescribed doses of the drug, which otherwise will remain illegal, will be used to ease the condition of the terminally ill suffering pain, nausea and vomiting. The doses also will help children with drug-resistant epilepsy.

And it will be used to treat patients fighting cancer who have to deal with nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy.

A medicinal cannabis trafficker has been spared jail at a time when governments are backing medical marijuana trials.

Malcolm Ronald Lee was caught with 116 cannabis plants and large stashes of cannabis oil when his Newcastle home was raided in November.

Newcastle District Court heard he was supplying local cancer patients, who paid him half the street value.

In August he pleaded guilty to three offences, while four other charges were dropped.

A further two charges were also taken into account today.

While sentencing Lee to a two year good behaviour bond, Judge Roy Ellis noted the benefits of medicinal cannabis and noted Lee was not trying to live the high life or get financial gain and was instead trying to help people in chronic pain.

This week it was revealed there is a support for a cross-party Federal Bill that could see medical cannabis legally grown and prescribed to patients as early as next year.

So far, so good.

But I fear the devil may be lurking in the detail and that the move might have missed some parts that matter.

Importantly, because they have been so slow and apply to only a small group, the positive changes will make little immediate difference to most who are currently accessing medical cannabis illegally.

A rental property south of Brisbane was "extensively modified" to accommodate about 450 cannabis plants growing inside, police claim.

The Littler Street house in Sunnybank was raided by police on Wednesday, with investigators allegedly locating a sophisticated hydroponic house run by two men.

They allege the drugs inside had a street value of $2 million.

Police said power to the house was diverted around meters, requiring it to be rendered safe before the set-up could be dismantled.

Men aged 32 and 22 were arrested.

They were both charged with stealing, drug trafficking, drug producing, drug possession and possessing anything used in the commission of a crime.

WA patients could take part in medical marijuana clinical trials amid growing momentum for its legalisation in Australia.

Health Minister Kim Hames wants officials to examine options for WA to link in with trials that will soon begin in the Eastern States.

Although clinical trials can legally be established in WA, one option may be to transport medicinal cannabis to the State to supply a limited number of patients with the drug as partof east coast trials.

NSW has taken the lead and will conduct three clinical trials next year, with Victoria and Queensland also taking part.

When it comes to Cannabis and its use for medical purposes, Canada has been examining the issue in one form or another for at least 16 years. It has of course lead to the current Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) – with all of its promise and problems. Australia, on the other hand is now just beginning to think about what a policy regime would look like – and in their desire to “get it right” Australia is looking at Canada to derive some lessons learned.

Australia has a very unique opportunity to design a policy regime that can ignore the Canadian mistakes and avoid some of the rhetoric that has plagued the discussion and policy development while addressing the needs of patients and care givers.

A product called Cannabis Energy Drink went on sale at some supermarkets in Western Australia recently and has been met with a range of reactions.

The company behind the drink is marketing it as an alternative to popular energy drinks like Red Bull and Rockstar, advertising it as a “high quality energy drink with a twist,” according to the Daily Mail.

Watch: Bizarre Cannabis Energy Drink animated video