❓ Dr. Walker questions the Health Minister about considering cannabis use in the state's COVID response, citing a study suggesting benefits for cannabis users. The Minister confirms it wasn't considered in the review but the department uses evidence-based methods.
AnsweredQoN 1089Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
CANNABIS USERS
1089. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the parliamentary secretary
representing Minister for Health:
I refer the minister to the words
of then-Premier Mark McGowan, who told us that we should ''follow the
science'' when it came to COVID-19,
and to a recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cannabis and
Cannabinoid Research , which concluded that ''cannabis users had
better (COVID) outcomes and mortality compared with non- users.''
(1) When the
government undertook its whole-of-government review of the state's
COVID response last year, did it consider any of the ways in which cannabis
might have eased symptoms for patients, be it in terms of the severity of
infection, lower rates of respiratory distress or mortality?
(2) If no to (1),
why was that not a consideration for the McGowan or Cook governments?
(3) Will the
minister commit to having this latest study considered in detail by her
department in the hope that we can learn from the reviews that others have
undertaken, if not necessarily from our own?
CANNABIS USERS
1089. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the parliamentary secretary
representing Minister for Health:
I refer the minister to the words
of then-Premier Mark McGowan, who told us that we should ''follow the
science'' when it came to COVID-19,
and to a recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cannabis and
Cannabinoid Research , which concluded that ''cannabis users had
better (COVID) outcomes and mortality compared with non- users.''
(1) When the
government undertook its whole-of-government review of the state's
COVID response last year, did it consider any of the ways in which cannabis
might have eased symptoms for patients, be it in terms of the severity of
infection, lower rates of respiratory distress or mortality?
(2) If no to (1),
why was that not a consideration for the McGowan or Cook governments?
(3) Will the
minister commit to having this latest study considered in detail by her
department in the hope that we can learn from the reviews that others have
undertaken, if not necessarily from our own?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for some notice of the question. The following answer has been
provided by the Minister for Health.
(1) No.
(2) It did not form part of the independent
review's terms of reference.
(3) The Department of Health undertakes evidence-based
methods to inform its policies and recommendations, including learning
from the reviews of others.
thank the member for some notice of the question. The following answer has been
provided by the Minister for Health.
(1) No.
(2) It did not form part of the independent
review's terms of reference.
(3) The Department of Health undertakes evidence-based
methods to inform its policies and recommendations, including learning
from the reviews of others.
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