By PAUL MILLAR
THE Otway Ranges are a prime location to introduce controlled marijuana crops, according to the leader of the Australian Sex Party.
Fiona Patten said the Otways could become an international supplier of medical marijuana to help overcome a global shortage.
“The Otways is one of the great places to grow a controlled crop for medicinal purposes,” Ms Patten told the Independent.
She identified the Owtays’ potential as state and federal governments continued considering legalisation of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Ms Patten said areas such as the Otways had the right climate to grow the drug without the prohibitive heating costs of nations that had already legalised it for medicinal purposes, such as Canada, the Czech Republic and Israel.
“There’s a global shortage of medicinal marijuana and it’s a highly profitable export crop,” she said.
“This a great renewable resource … it gives us a great chance to reinvigorate the farming communities.”
Ms Patten said legalising the growth of medicinal marijuana could also revive the hemp industry.
“If this is done properly we could become a leader in the supply of this product.”
The Otways have a history of illegal marijuana cultivation, which has led to many major drug busts over recent decades.
Ms Patten, a Victorian Upper House MP, welcomed the State Government’s consideration of a “cultivation trial” of cannabis for medical purposes as long as it was under strict supervision.
Federal Greens leader Dr Richard Di Natale, who has a property at Deans Marsh, introduced a medicinal cannabis bill that earned a senate committee’s unanimous backing.
Senator Di Natale said it was” a significant step toward achieving medicinal cannabis reform”.
“This issue is not about politics, it’s about getting medicine to people who need it,” he told the Independent.
“We have an opportunity to relieve the pain and suffering of many Australians if we can just come together and show Parliament at its best.”
