An illegal immigrant linked to a large-scale cannabis grow house network operating in Canberra has been deported despite warnings he could never face justice for his alleged involvement. 

Ong Yap, 35, pleaded not guilty to participating in a criminal group in the ACT Magistrates Court earlier this year after police arrested him under Operation Armscote.

He was charged over his alleged role in the extensive hydroponic set-ups that ACT Policing said had netted 1226 plants with an estimated street value of more than $7 million seized from rental properties.

Yap, a Malaysian national, was released on bail in July despite complications that stemmed from the fact that he was in the country illegally and had overstayed his visa by more than a year. 

Victorian pharmacists will play a pivotal role under proposals announced by the Victorian Government to make medicinal cannabis available to some patients under exceptional circumstances from 2017, says the PSA.

Acting National President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Michelle Lynch, says that under the new regulations, pharmacists will dispense medicinal cannabis after authorisation is provided by medical specialists.

“Having pharmacists acknowledged as best-placed to dispense medicinal cannabis is welcomed as it ensures that medicines experts are available to advise and counsel patients using these products,” Lynch says.

Victoria is set to become the first state in Australia to legalise cannabis for medical use.

In a controversial plan, the Andrews government is taking steps to make the drug available for terminally ill people.

While many are welcoming the move, others are deeply sceptical, calling for more research into the long-term effects of medicinal cannabis use.

In a national first, the use of medicinal cannabis could soon be legal in Victoria.

The state government has announced plans to embark on what it says is Australia's first-ever cannabis cultivation trial.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is delivering on an election commitment to make medicinal cannabis available for terminally ill people.

A Tasmanian mother illegally using medicinal cannabis has ruled out participating in the New South Wales trial of the drug.

The Tasmanian Government is finalising its involvement in the trial and has offered to supply participants from the state.

However, that could prove difficult, with some parents who use the drug to treat their seriously ill children refusing to put them at risk.

Hobart mother Nicole Cowles treats her nine-year-old daughter Alice's life-threatening seizures with cannabis oil, even though it is illegal.

She will not allow her to be part of the trial.

Locally-grown medicinal cannabis will be legalised in Victoria, under a controversial State Government move to ease the suffering of people with serious medical conditions.

In an Australian first, the Andrews Government plans to embark on a state-based cannabis cultivation trial, based on the recommendations of a report by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.

But the move will need the support of the Federal Government, which is a signatory to an international convention on narcotic drugs.

Imports of synthetic cannabis have been rising since the Psychoactive Substances Amendment Act took the products off shop shelves last year.

The drug - along with the likes of meth, ecstasy, and Alpha PVP, which is also known as bath salts or flakka - were being found in mailed packages at the country's border.

Customs cargo operations manager Bruce Berry said people try to fly under the radar by going online to order small quantities from overseas.

"What we're seeing is a steady supply of smaller quantities of products in the domain. We're certainly seeing synthetic cannabinoids, we're seeing psychoactive substances, but we're also seeing the mimics there in the same space," he said.

Banned doctor and cannabis oil producer Andrew Katelaris is definitely not a crowd-pleaser.

Katelaris, who was de-registered in 2005 for supplying medicinal cannabis to his patients, has dedicated his life to advocating the medical benefits of the plant.

"My signature method is using a specific type of cannabis called cannabidiol or CBD that is believed to have very superior anti-convulsion properties to treat children with epilepsy and patients with chronic pain," Katelaris told Neos Kosmos.

With desperate families turning to him when traditional treatments fail, the controversial physician says children with intractable diseases have benefited from his alternative prescriptions.

Don't hesitate to medicate," call the spruikers in their white coats on Hollywood Boulevard and Venice Beach, California, where doctors licensed to prescribe medical marijuana do a brisk trade. Walk-ins merely have to turn up and describe some vague pain or high level of stress to bag their weed.

The rest of the world seems to be trying to ignore it, but slowly and surely the United States of America, until recently leading the charge in the war on drugs, is legalising marijuana possession. Twenty states, from Alaska to Vermont, have already decriminalised adult cultivation and use of cannabis.

KEY agriculture sector names are lining up to back industrial hemp as a food crop, but advocates say access to the billion-dollar global industry is shrouded in bureaucracy.

Hemp fibre crops were legalised in NSW in 2008, but producers said the lack of legal approval for hemp seeds as food prevents the industry from gaining acceptance as a mainstream broadacre crop.

MILDURA general practitioner Ravi Ravoori has welcomed the Victorian Government’s plans to legalise the use of medicinal cannabis in exceptional circumstances.

The state government is considering recommendations from the Victorian Law Reform Commission on how to change the law to allow this type of medical treatment to occur.

Dr Ravoori said the use of medicinal cannabis would benefit people with epilepsy, cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

The state government is partnering with the New South Wales government for Victorians to participate in clinical trials next year.

Medicinal cannabis is legal in Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain, Italy and more than 20 states in the US.