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"From Monday, this is under way." With those words, NSW premier Mike Baird reignited the hopes of medicinal marijuana campaigners as he announced the state will invest in clinical trials into using cannabis in health treatment. Child patients will be the first cabs off the rank in a trial program on the effectiveness of cannabis derivatives in medical treatments. The first of three clinical trials to be funded by the NSW government, announced by Mr Baird and health minister Jillian Skinner on Sunday, will be be focused on treating children with epilepsy. "Other trials will proceed thereafter (for) people who have terminal illness, and nausea associated with chemotherapy," Mrs Skinner said. The NSW Premier says his government is considering growing its own marijuana, as part of a clinical trial that the government's medical advisers have advocated be extended to child patients. Announcing a clinical trial and the possible future decriminalisation of medicinal cannabis, Mike Baird initially spoke in terms of its benefits for the terminally ill. But at a medical marijuana symposium in Tamworth on Friday morning, Mr Baird confirmed trials would be for a wider range of conditions: "We're going to outline three trials, not just to the terminally ill," he said. A spokeswoman for Mr Baird would not elaborate on the conditions of those trials. But Fairfax Media can reveal the working group appointed to develop guidelines for the trial has endorsed the inclusion of children with pediatric epilepsy, an option once thought to be off the table. Mr Baird's spokeswoman would not comment when asked if the Premier believed children should be included in the trial. But the recommendation is understood to already have been presented to government, which is expected to announce within two weeks which measures are to be adopted. It is understood the group – led by the state's chief medical officer, Dr Kerry Chant – will also endorse trialling medical marijuana for the terminally ill and those suffering from chemotherapy-related nausea, but not for glaucoma or chronic pain. Mr Baird told reporters that since announcing his support for the cause, he had been contacted by people with a wide range of conditions. But the government must also confront the issue of how to secure a marijuana supply. Mr Baird said he was considering having the state government grow its own. "I'm absolutely open to us doing that," he said. "If that's what we need to do - either through contract or us doing it ourselves - to hold these clinical trials, that's exactly what we'll do." A source said one option under consideration involved approaching NSW universities about growing the plant in controlled conditions. If successful, the trials could be a prelude to the decriminalisation of medical marijuana in the state. Mr Baird has said he will change police guidelines to allow officers to decline to prosecute patients who have a legitimate need for the substance. One question to be tackled by the group is the form of marijuana to be provided to patients, and how much psychoactive THC it would contain. It is unknown whether many patients would be provided with smokable plant matter. Experts have told the government that ingested marijuana is often more predictable and released more slowly into the system. The government is also understood to have explored the possibility of American companies providing pharmaceutically prepared cannabis. Mr Baird's speech was followed by a presentation by renowned Harvard psychiatrist Lester Grinspoon, who criticised restrictions on THC levels. Dr Grinspoon said that medical marijuana often worked best when its psychoactive properties were retained. "These provide what I refer to as an 'ensemble phenomenon', to provide the best effect," he said. He said marijuana was among the most studied therapeutic substances in history, since its use in the 19th century by Queen Victoria to relieve menstrual cramps. The Greens have criticised the government for insisting on a clinical trial before any legalisation, saying it will delay needed relief for patients. But the Australian Medical Association NSW says a clinical trial is necessary, especially if it to be used by child patients. The United in Compassion conference has brought about 150 people from Australia and overseas to Tamworth. The conference has been organised by Lucy Haslam, a local woman who lobbied the Premier to progress legalisation after her 24-year-old son Daniel, who has bowel cancer, was forced to procure black market marijuana to ease the symptoms of his disease. "I'll never forget the look in his eyes," the Premier said. "When those eyes looked at me, it was very much saying, can you help?" More than 20 American states have legislated to allow some form of medical cannabis. It is used in hospitals in Israel.

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NSW government to fund medical cannabis trials