Tell Australia's Medicinal Cannabis Story

Nothing about advocating for Medicinal Cannabis is easy, apart from the decision to do so...

In 2014, I began advocating for my son to gain legal access to medicinal cannabis in Australia. Cannabis was the only remedy that alleviated his chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting but at that time, it remained illegal to use. At just 24 years old, he was four years into a battle with stage 4 bowel cancer, and his quality of life was grim. He was a criminal for using cannabis and I was a criminal for assisting him to source it.

Although that time feels distant now, the grief and my commitment to ease suffering have stayed with me, even though Dan passed away within a year of our fight beginning. One year after his death, the law changed, and while this should have marked a moment to step back from my personal crusade inspired by Dan's struggles, I quickly realised that the legal and regulatory changes did not resolve the ongoing challenges faced by others like him seeking access to medicinal cannabis in Australia.

I had made a promise to Dan to continue fighting for other patients who needed this vital access. The journey has been long and fraught with challenges; few struggles can compare to the effort of liberating a beneficial medicine from the stigma of a long-misunderstood substance associated with addiction and psychosis, along with the misinformation and baggage that accompany it.

The lack of education, the indifference of health professional colleges toward acknowledging the therapeutic effects of cannabis, the failure to appreciate the reasons for lack of clinical trial evidence and the government's failure to support both the medicine and the industry needed for its success have all contributed to the ongoing difficulties.

A decade later, there is much to talk about, and numerous issues still need resolution. It’s ironic that the struggle for better access has transformed into a pressing need for tightening regulation and stamping out the egregious marketing tactics, particularly regarding high THC prescription to vulnerable populations. When money is involved, greed and dishonesty often emerge.

I would like to help Creative writer and Film Maker Jay complete the documentary project known as "In Plain Sight" which aims to raise awareness and advocate for safe, ethical prescribing practices, ensuring that "at risk patients" are protected from exploitation by unethical individuals and companies driven solely by greed.

Additionally, the documentary strives to debunk myths and misconceptions, highlighting the potential of medicinal cannabis to help an informed and appropriately cautious community alleviate widespread suffering. For this aim to be successful, it is crucial to address the stigma and discrimination tied to medicinal cannabis and its users.

Medicinal cannabis is not perfect medicine, it is good medicine that is helpful to many but not all. It is good medicine but not without all risk. It is good medicine that is often highjacked by those who seek fortune rather than best practice in health care.

This ongoing stigma and discrimination manifest in daily life, evident in outdated drug driving laws, and unreasonable workplace drug policies, and within the community, including health facilities where patients using legally prescribed medicinal cannabis are denied access or treated with less than the respect they deserve.

The absence of a public education campaign and the harm being seen as a consequence, was emphasised in a senate inquiry several years ago, yet remains largely unaddressed and this information vacuum has opened the doorways for the bad players to infiltrate what could have, and should have been a real opportunity for humanity to benefit.

"In Plain Sight" seeks to bridge that gap for the benefit of all Australians.

But even the quest to tell this story has been a challenge. From a global corporate company threatening to shut down our educational event because we had an earlier GoFundMe fundraiser to make this documentary. What ensued was a battle with a brick wall and resulted in me having to prematurely remove our fundraiser. Even then, having done what was demanded, that company closed our account and put in jeopardy the United in Compassion (UIC) 2025 Australian Medicinal Cannabis Symposium event which has been run regularly since 2014, for the sole purpose of providing education.

A previous fundraising campaign paid for the initial production work, but more funds are needed to complete the project and find a distributor. The aim to raise $200,000 and release the film as soon as possible.

Introducing Jay, a creative writer and film maker who came to me about doing this story many months ago now. We brainstormed together and many hours of interviews later, Jay is 100% committed to seeing this project through. I would like to do my best to help him!