At this time in Australia, only a “defined group of patients” have access to medicinal cannabis, including children with “severe intractable epilepsy”. But while the government embarks on the long process of implementing legal medicinal cannabis schemes for those beyond the current legislation, desperate patients have been forced to source medicine from the black market.
In Stealthcare, VICE embeds with illegal growers and the patients they service, exploring the issues surrounding access to medicinal cannabis. These growers, essentially cannabis enthusiasts, often donate their product for little or no cost, at great personal risk. Scarred by jealous drug dealers, police raids and government persecution, these “Compassion Clubs” are forced to operate on the black market where they can deliver the medicine to sufferers.
