{"id":5904,"date":"2016-04-21T22:55:18","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T22:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/?p=4716"},"modified":"2016-04-21T22:55:18","modified_gmt":"2016-04-21T22:55:18","slug":"au-medicinal-marijuana-has-been-legalised-in-victoria-but-how-does-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/au-medicinal-marijuana-has-been-legalised-in-victoria-but-how-does-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"AU: Medicinal Marijuana Has Been Legalised In Victoria, But How Does It Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/au-medicinal-marijuana-has-been-legalised-in-victoria-but-how-does-it-work\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p>There has been talk in recent times of medicinal cannabis being legalised in Australia and some have been waiting with bated breath for the announcement.<\/p>\n<p>And the Victorian government has finally passed its bill, with some people now able to manufacture and consume the drug.<\/p>\n<p>Victoria is the first state in Australia to legalise medicinal cannabis, with a cultivation trial about to get underway.<\/p>\n<p>But how exactly does it work and what does it mean for you?<\/p>\n<p>WHAT IS MEDICINAL CANNABIS?<\/p>\n<p>It stems from the drug, marijuana, which is made up of cannabinoids and many believe it can be used to treat chronic illnesses or alleviate symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>University of Melbourne psychiatrist Professor David Castle said it would be beneficial to people who were not getting the desired treatment from their current medication.<\/p>\n<p>Recreational use of marijuana is illegal and Prof Castle said people were understandably concerned the legalisation of medicinal cannabis would lead to addictions and various side effects.<\/p>\n<p>But he believed it would be manufactured and controlled in a way so this was not an issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of medications we use are potentially addictive and have potential side effects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no reason why we shouldn\u2019t expect this to become an important part of pharmacopoeia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>WHO CAN GET IT?<\/p>\n<p>Children with severe epilepsy will be able to access medicinal cannabis from next year.<\/p>\n<p>So far the government is just focusing on this one group of patients while cultivation and manufacturing industries are set up in the state to support ongoing supply.<\/p>\n<p>It could be extended to people with other serious illnesses in the future and Prof Castle said medicinal cannabis could be beneficial to people with a whole range of diseases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s helpful for people with muscular dystrophy and cancer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has elements that can stimulate appetite and is good for people with anorexia and beneficial to people with HIV and AIDS.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prof Castle said it was believed medicinal cannabis also took away nausea that is a side effect of chemo.<\/p>\n<p>HOW DOES IT WORK?<\/p>\n<p>In Victoria, medicinal cannabis will not be used in the same form as recreational drug use.<\/p>\n<p>Prof Castle said it will not be smoked and is essentially an oil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re certainly not wanting to encourage smoking because of the dangerous health effects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will be produced in a form that is not associated with dangers of cannabisism and will most likely be in a capsule.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Medicinal Cannabis Australia says cannabinoids relieve the harsh effects of chronic illness by attaching to receptors in the brain, organs, connective tissues, glands and immune cells.<\/p>\n<p>It works to create homeostasis, the maintenance of stable internal environment.<\/p>\n<p>A normal body will have a healthy endocannabinoid system, that feeds receptors and keeps everything working.<br \/>\nSomebody battling a chronic illness won\u2019t have receptors that are \u201cwell-fed\u201d by the endocannabinoid system, hence why medicinal cannabis can alleviate symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM RECREATIONAL DRUG USE?<\/p>\n<p>Prof Castle said the make-up of a marijuana plant was not controlled by those who used it recreationally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe components of the plant are very complex and there are many chemicals in it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt can sometimes be powerful, depending on how it\u2019s cultivated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said marijuana could have strong effects on your psychosis when you took the drug recreationally because you had no control over the amount of chemicals.<\/p>\n<p>Medicinal cannabis will be controlled and allow a person to get the correct dose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecreational use also tends to associate itself with a criminal element,\u201d Professor Castle said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother massive problem with recreational use is problems go on within the drug supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said medicinal cannabis took away the criminality from the drug and opened up an opportunity for proper manufacture and dose control.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4717\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/au-medicinal-marijuana-has-been-legalised-in-victoria-but-how-does-it-work.jpg\" alt=\"Australia-legalizes-medicinal-cannabis\" width=\"737\" height=\"400\" \/>News Moderator: Robert Celt <a href=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">420 MAGAZINE \u00ae<\/a><br \/>\nFull Article: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/national\/victoria\/news\/medicinal-marijuana-has-been-legalised-in-victoria-but-how-does-it-work\/news-story\/5c1b4f50c5968926f99abe97f0858606\" target=\"_blank\">AU: Medicinal Marijuana Has Been Legalised In Victoria, But How Does It Work?<\/a><br \/>\nAuthor: Olivia Lambert<br \/>\nContact: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/more-information\" target=\"_blank\">news.com.au<\/a><br \/>\nPhoto Credit: None found<br \/>\nWebsite: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">news.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There has been talk in recent times of medicinal cannabis being legalised in Australia and some have been waiting with&#8230; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/2016\/04\/au-medicinal-marijuana-legalised-victoria-work\/\" class=\"read-more\">[Read More]<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1616,9,1,3],"tags":[4184],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5904"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}