Australia’s first dedicated medicinal cannabis group is rolling out two Sunshine Coast clinics, heralding a revolution in chronic pain and anxiety management.
Releaf Clinics and Dispensaries has chosen Bulcock St, Caloundra, for its first Queensland clinic, which will open on February 10, followed by a second facility in Hastings St, Noosa, in mid to late March.
This will allow patients easier access to doctors able to prescribe products such as cannabis oil from the on-site dispensary and educate people on the wider benefits.
No longer will sufferers have to travel across the border to notorious NSW suppliers in places such as Nimbin, or pay exorbitant prices from overseas distributors.
And just like at any other medical clinic, Releaf patients will be able to qualify for Medicare rebates.
Medicinal cannabis has been proven to help with pain, prevent or reduce vomiting, and also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
This is because the cannabis plant contains 80 to 100 cannabinoids that act on the body’s endocannabinoid system: a communications system between the brain and body that influences mood, memory, sleep and appetite.
It is used by a diverse range of patients for conditions from Parkinson’s Disease and epilepsy to cancer.
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Releaf Group Limited CEO and co-founder Gary Mackenzie said this week that five doctors were ready to begin consultations in Caloundra and he was “just waiting on a couple of regulatory things” before face-to-face and tele-health consultations via computer or phone could begin.
“We’ve already had a huge response,” Mr Mackenzie, a kidney cancer survivor, told Sunshine Coast News.
“We’ve had over 200 patients request to see doctors (from the QR code attached to the clinic sign at 1/60 Bulcock Street).
“(Caloundra is) our very first Releaf clinic and dispensary in Queensland.
“We will have up to around 25 doctors operating in Queensland within the next three months.”
Mr Mackenzie said the company had plans to roll out clinics and dispensaries at 100 sites across Australia over the next couple of years.
Once Caloundra and Noosa are established, Releaf also expects to open smaller, more central clinics at Maroochydore and Mooloolaba soon.
“It’s been about five years in the making, so it hasn’t happened overnight,” Mr Mackenzie said.
“There’s been a lot of work done to get to this position. We are the only cannabis franchise group in the whole of APAC (Asia-Pacific region).
“We operate in this clinic and pharmacy model, and it’s all supported by education and research.”
Releaf doctors and pharmacists are highly trained in the use and prescription of medicinal cannabis, and its suitability for any patient is assessed on an individual basis.
The law allowing use of medicinal cannabis was passed in Australia in 2016, but its prescription is highly regulated. Only doctors can apply to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to supply medicinal cannabis as a pill, oil, nasal spray or some other form of cannabis plant extract to certain patients through the Authorised Prescriber Scheme and the Special Access Scheme.
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“Cannabis is great for assisting patients of chemotherapy for nausea and rest and just making them feel happier and better about themselves,” Mr Mackenzie said.
“Half of the treatment from cancer is actually how you feel and your mental ability to get through it.
“Obviously, after myself going through kidney cancer, I know if you’re on opiates for a long time, it can really start to affect your moods as well, whereas cannabis is a lot safer.
“You can’t overdose on cannabis, whereas opiates you can.”
One of Releaf’s main aims is to reduce the cost of medicinal cannabis to prices well below those charged by international companies.
“As an example, the pricing points for cannabis here (at Releaf) are at least 30-40% cheaper than the Canadians,” Mr Mackenzie said.
“We’re moving towards prescriptions being under $100 by the time we finish opening up a number of these other clinics in Queensland.
“We’re moving to a pricing point for dried flower … to under $100. This is only for Releaf products.
“We have our own vertical model and that’s how we’re able to subsidise some of the pricing.
“We’re buying directly from farms or growing, and we manufacture and distribute ourselves.
“Some of the medicines that do meet the requirements can be hydroponic but our philosophy at Releaf is that we are trying to have a majority of organic, sun-grown cannabis that is Australian product.
“We also have an export licence and we’re moving into an export market and looking at developing those international markets on behalf of those farms.”
Mr Mackenzie said Releaf’s aim was to better educate the medical fraternity and general public on the benefits of the natural medicine and for medicinal cannabis to have more mainstream acceptance as part of the spectrum of treatment tools available.
“If you’re suffering chronic pain or anxiety or sleep (deprivation), medicinal cannabis gives you an alternative,” he said.
“It’s not for everyone. It’s about making people feel better about themselves and having the ability to access something that is natural and might work for them.
“Just like in Australia when you think about going shopping you think about Coles or Woolies, we want people to think about Releaf as that medicinal cannabis brand that they can go in, see a doctor, get reasonably priced medicines and feel better about themselves.”
One Warana mother-of-two is overjoyed that the Releaf Group’s clinic at Caloundra will give her much easier access to her medicinal cannabis prescription.
In 2000, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer that had moved through her body and formed a tumour in and around her ureter: one of the two tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder.
The diagnosis required major surgery with follow-up chemotherapy and radiation and she was later declared cancer-free.
But 20 years later, the woman, who did not wish to be named, began having issues with her legs due to the chemotherapy and radiation.
The neuropathy in both legs causes her numbness, irritation and inflammation of the sciatic nerve in one leg that manifests itself in a loss of strength and weakness.
“I had tried many pharmaceutical prescriptions with no success as they had too many side effects,” she said.
“I then inquired about CBD oil through my doctor. Not a lot of GPs deal with this so I was recommended to one that did.
“An appointment was made, he assessed me and explained how CBD oil (the non-intoxicating cannabis oil that does not give a ‘high’) worked and how it may help me.
“A script was made, he sent it off, the company then contacted me for payment over the phone and my CBD oil was delivered. This usually takes two to three days after payment.
“So wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go straight to the doctor, get the script and the CBD oil all at one place and on the same day.”
FROM CANCER PATIENT TO MEDICINAL CANNABIS ADVOCATE
Gary Mackenzie was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and had a 10cm tumour on his right kidney removed in December 2017.
His doctors advised him not to undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment because of the risks to his remaining kidney.
But Gary’s surgeries left him with permanent nerve damage and resultant chronic pain.
“I had three major surgeries over 18 months,” the Releaf Group CEO recalled.
“I was taking fairly heavy opiates so, wanting to get off them, my son actually said, ‘Why don’t you try medical cannabis?’.
“Seeing that it was nearly impossible to find a doctor or find a prescription four years ago did propel me into solving that problem. That’s where the whole idea about Releaf came from.
“So I basically started on this journey to commercialise patient access (to medical cannabis) in Australia. I wanted to remove the stigma and I wanted to make it feel more personalised and like a normal medical experience because people might feel nervous about going and asking a GP for it.
“We’re obviously now the leading cannabis franchise group in APAC and what we’ve done is create this whole new industry now which is evolving. We’ve also set up now in London and in Auckland, New Zealand.”
Mr Mackenzie said he had been able to get well and remain well through a combination of healthy living and diet, as well as good doses of Vitamin D and C and medicinal cannabis.
“I’ve still got another year of remission to go with my cancer. Usually (all clear) is five years but everything is moving in the right direction and there’s no indication of anything coming back.”
Mr Mackenzie said Israel had started studies in the 1960s into using medicinal cannabis as part of treatment of illnesses and conditions. Canada and the United States also were well-advanced in research.
But he lamented the fact Australia still lagged behind in the acceptance of medicinal cannabis.
“In Australia, they say there’s still not enough research and the like to talk much about it and you’re not allowed to advertise any products or say anything,” he said.
“But (the world has) been doing research on medicinal cannabis now for 50 to 60 years.
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“At the moment, it’s illegal to drive with even one skerrick of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol that is the best-known active ingredient in marijuana that produces the feeling of being high) in your body.
“You might not have even touched cannabis for three months (and it registers). So, there’s these unfair playing fields. One law for one thing and there’s a different law for medicinal cannabis.
“When that all adjusts, then I think things will start to move forward.
“We’ve seen the industry changing and getting easier and some of the barriers coming down over the last few years. But there’s still a long way to go.”
For more information about Releaf Clinics, go to the website.
- Australia’s first operational medical marijuana farm opened on the Sunshine Coast in August 30, 2019, and MediFarm directors said at the time would supply about 1.2 tonnes of medical marijuana to 3000 patients per year.
