Father Who Gave Cannabis to Sick Children Avoids Jail

Professor McGregor stressed that juicing cannabis gives a very different cannabinoid profile, as opposed to smoking cannabis. “In many ways, juicing is a positive thing to do because you don’t get nearly as much of the intoxicating element, which is THC [tetrahyrdocannabinol] and you get another component of cannabinoid, which is THCA [tetrahydocannabinolic acid], which has very strong anti-inflammatory properties in the gut” he said. “Proper clinical trials on THCA have not been done and this is one of the generic problems that we have with medicinal cannabis - this prohibition that we have over the years is really stymieing progress in terms of learning the therapeutic effects of the plant” he added.

Sally McPherson, Mr. Taylor’s lawyer, spoke out, stating that she has been trying to get the New South Wales Parliament to pass laws in order to stop prosecutions like those of her client. With so many individuals self-medicating while awaiting a doctor’s legal approval, she has urged the government to change the laws to put a stay on proceedings. McPherson has suggested a stay of 3-6 months until the individual charged can provide a doctor’s prescription and present evidence that they are a lawful user. She has also asked for a change in defense for those “lawfully prescribed” medical cannabis users, seeing as how there is currently no defense for this group of individuals.