Since then debate has raged over how the drug will be monitored if it is legalised.

But for two Maitland women the solution is simple– help people to help themselves.

EMMA SWAIN reports.

After more than 40 kilograms had fallen from her body and she could no longer walk, Tara Kmetyk smoked a joint.

Seated close to a window, with the threat of police nearby, Tara inhaled the only the remaining hope she had for pain relief.

“I really had no idea what I was doing,” Tara, 31, said.

“I’d never smoked marijuana before, recreational drugs never interested me, but I had to do something because I was so sick.”

Tara was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 2003.

Two years later the blood cancer returned and this time Tara needed a bone marrow transplant to save her life.

In was then, in the months following the transplant, the Largs woman first learnt about the benefits of medicinal marijuana.

“I lost a lot of weight during my first lot of chemotherapy. I was constantly sick and I couldn’t keep anything down,” she said.

“But the marijuana helped. It increased my appetite enough for me to actually want to eat food. It really made a difference.”

Tara has added her voice to a groundswell of supporters calling for the legalisation of medicinal marijuana.

And with a clinical trial for medical cannabis now imminent, it appears this plight is finally being heard.

The NSW government announced it would establish such a trial to explore the role the drug played in providing relief for those suffering a range of debilitating or terminal ­illnesses.

As such, a working group will consider all relevant issues including the scope of the trial, as well as advice from experts regarding the most efficient way to advance the availability of safe and effective cannabis-derived products.

However, Greens NSW MP John Kaye has challenged the plan and will introduce his own legislation to Parliament in an effort to broaden the availability of medicinal cannabis to include those living with conditions such as epilepsy.

Mr Kaye has described the ­government’s plan as a small step in the right direction towards legalising cannabis to help those suffering from cancer and HIV.

 “When I was sick I was in a lot of physical pain and on a cocktail of drugs and my dad had to get the marijuana for me,” Tara said.

“He didn’t really know what he was doing and I was so sick and fragile I was scared the drug would be tainted, so I was breaking the law and living in constant fear.

“It was so awful to deal with that when I was so unwell.”

As part of the plan, NSW Police  guidelines will be implemented to formalise the current arrangement that allows police to exercise their 

discretion not to charge terminally ill adults who use cannabis to alleviate their symptoms, or their carers.

 “There’s a big difference between this sort of thing and what people are doing at parties,” Tara said. 

“I don’t think there are any real fears about it getting out of control. I never actually got high while I was using marijuana.

“I just can’t understand why this hasn’t already happened.”

The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association Council has also thrown its support behind the cause by formally endorsing a ­resolution to support the recommendations of a NSW upper house standing committee and a petition to decriminalise the medical use of cannabis for terminally ill patients.

This revelation came to light after retired nurse Lucy Haslam approached the NSWNMA to seek support for a petition she had launched on behalf of her son Daniel.

Daniel and his family have ­campaigned for the decriminalisation of medicinal cannabis, which Mrs Haslam uses to assist with the side effects of chemotherapy treatment.

In June, the Mercury also told the story of Maitland mother Sam Aulton, who was forced to break the law to try to save her life.

As a result, Sam illegally turned to cannabis oil which she believed poisoned her.

“I’m not angry but if this drug was decriminalised then I would have been monitored by the ­professionals and not forced to go down this path,” she said.

Ms Aulton was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 at the age of 30. Sadly, the cancer returned almost a decade later and was detected in her spine and one of her lungs.

It has since spread to her bones.

“Having to become a criminal to try and save your own life is just ridiculous,” she said.

Medicinal cannabis is used to alleviate a range of symptoms such as nausea, for various illnesses including Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease and other chronic pain or post ­traumatic stress disorders.

The drug is legal and regulated throughout the United States, Canada and several European countries.

Earlier this year, the Maitland community weighed heavily into the controversial debate with 97.9 per cent of Mercury readers voting for the drug to be decriminalised for those suffering with a terminal illness.

Of the 280 readers who took part in the online poll, 262 voted yes to the decriminalisation of the drug.

OPINION: Debate on the medical use of cannabis is far from over