Public Health (Medicinal Cannabis Affordability) Amendment Bill 2017*


Queensland Crest

An Act to amend the Public Health (Medicinal Cannabis) Act 2016 to ensure the affordability of the lawful treatment of persons with whole plant medicinal cannabis

The Parliament of Queensland enacts—

1Short title

This Act may be cited as the Public Health (Medicinal Cannabis Affordability) Amendment Act 2017 .

2Act amended

This Act amends the Public Health (Medicinal Cannabis) Act 2016 .

3Insertion of new s 214A

Chapter 12, part 2—
insert—

214AMinister must take steps to ensure whole plant medicinal cannabis is affordable

(1)The Minister must take all necessary and reasonable steps to ensure the cost of the lawful treatment of a person (the patient) with whole plant medicinal cannabis is affordable for a person incurring the cost of the patient’s treatment.
(2)Without limiting subsection (1), steps to ensure the affordability of the lawful treatment of a person with whole plant medicinal cannabis include negotiating with the Commonwealth to ensure either or both of the following—
(a)the applicable law of the Commonwealth regulating the importation of whole plant medicinal cannabis does not unnecessarily restrict the importation of whole plant medicinal cannabis from particular foreign manufacturers;
(b)the subsidising, by the Commonwealth or the State, of the cost of the lawful treatment of a person with whole plant medicinal cannabis imported from foreign manufacturers.
(3)In this section—
whole plant medicinal cannabis means medicinal cannabis that contains all of the therapeutic compounds found in a plant of the genus Cannabis.