--- description: Australia is set to introduce legislation that will legalize the licensed growth of marijuana for medical-research purposes title: Australia Pushes Legalization of Marijuana Growth for Medical Research image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65f7c614cbc63f37/69887cef2dce01188d9e7bf4/gettyimages-88168872.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Australia](/tag/australia/) ## Australia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Australia Is Pushing to Legalize Marijuana Growth for Medical Research by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 10, 2016 9:17 AM CUT  Cannabis CannabisEisenhut and Mayer Wien—Getty Images by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 10, 2016 9:17 AM CUT Australia is set to introduce [legislation ](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-10/medical-cannabis-cultivation-legislation-to-be-introduced/7154006 "undefined")that will legalize the licensed growth of marijuana for medical-research purposes. The bill before Australia’s parliament will amend half-century-old drug regulations to create a licensing program for cannabis cultivation, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The marijuana in question will be used in scientific research, particularly concerning palliative care for those with chronic painful conditions. Health Minister Sussan Ley noted that the bill does not concern recreational marijuana use, which is illegal across Australia. “This product is not one that you smoke, it’s not something that might be out there illegally,” Ley said. \[[_ABC_](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-10/medical-cannabis-cultivation-legislation-to-be-introduced/7154006 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4215192/australia-cannabis-law-research/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4215192/australia-cannabis-law-research/"},"headline":"Australia Is Pushing to Legalize Marijuana Growth for Medical Research","datePublished":"2016-02-10T09:17:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:56:17.478Z","description":"The legislation in question does not address recreational use","url":"https://time.com/4215192/australia-cannabis-law-research/","keywords":["Australia","Marijuana","medicine","Drugs","Science topic","Research","cannabis"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65f7c614cbc63f37/69887cef2dce01188d9e7bf4/gettyimages-88168872.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65f7c614cbc63f37/69887cef2dce01188d9e7bf4/gettyimages-88168872.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cannabis","caption":"Cannabis","creditText":"Eisenhut and Mayer Wien—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/australia/","name":"Australia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4215192/australia-cannabis-law-research/","name":"Australia Is Pushing to Legalize Marijuana Growth for Medical Research"}}]}] ```