United in Compassion focus medical cannabis education, not cultivation

Earlier this year, Ms Halsam purchased a property near Tamworth, named DanEden in honour of her son, which was set to become a medical cannabis farm – but those plans have been shelved for now.

“Originally when we decided we wanted to cultivate, it was a means to an end,” Ms Halsam said. “But quite clearly supply is not going to be an issue, because there are so many people lining up to do it.”

With cashed up medical cannabis companies from countries with established markets, like Canada and Israel, looking to expand into Australia, Ms Haslam said United In Compassion wanted to ensure the industry develops ethically.

“There is a risk of green fever, with the dollar signs leading the establishment of the industry, not the patients’ needs,”  she said. “We are hoping we can evolve like the Heart Foundation Tick. If people want to be endorsed by United In Compassion, we're going expect they have patients front and centre.”

Ms Haslam also wants to continue influencing medical cannabis policy, such as who has access to the treatment.

“We are expecting they'll start with a really small group and we are going to continuing lobbing to expand that group,” she said. “Overwhelmingly the biggest group of medical cannabis users, is people with chronic pain and they're not looking at including that in the first instance.”

United In Compassion is also working on online resources for patients and a number of research projects. Ms Halsam still wants Tamworth to become a medical cannabis hub.

“The fact that it all started here and the community has been so supportive, I want to pay them back by having an industry develop here and the employment opportunities that would bring,” she said. “I am looking at it at a different angle, so rather than us doing it, trying to get one of these big players to come to town.”