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A WORKSHOP on the benefits of medicinal cannabis could help people "come out" about their use of products like hemp oil, organiser Natalie Daley said. The workshop, run by the Medicinal Cannabis Users Association of Tasmania, will feature guest speakers, including medicinal marijuana advocate Dr Andrew Katelaris, and politicians from Labor to Liberal. Mrs Daley, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer two years ago, credits hemp oil with, among other things, a weight gain from just 42 kilograms to 55. "The oil might work for one person, it might not work for another. It makes you comfortable, it takes away your pain [for me] the oil was the only thing that stopped the nausea. "There are more people taking oil than everyone realises but they're too scared to come out about it. They're just worried about the police turning up on their doorstep as I was too." "I hope it makes people feel more comfortable about feeling more open about using hemp oil for their conditions." The Ulverstone mother of three began taking cannabis oil last February, a week into her second round of chemotherapy and with the support of her GP. She said she was "excited" but not "holding her breath" about the state government's announcement last Friday of a potential partnership with New South Wales scientists setting up a clinical trial for medicinal cannabis. "I think it's about time. [I will] just continue to try and get the message out there about how it's helped me and how it helps other people, just to get it through that it's not a bad thing to take. "There's a lot of controversy, being an illegal drug. I thought it was just a terrible thing to have until I did the research." The Medicinal Cannabis Users Association of Tasmania medicinal cannabis workshop is on Saturday, September 26, from noon until 5pm at the Ulverstone Surf Life Saving Club. For more information, contact Natalie Daley on 0447 537 232.

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