The woman behind a push for medicinal cannabis says it is important to make sure Australia takes the lead on research and does not let international companies capture the market for profit.

The New South Wales Government on Sunday announced it was the first state authorised to conduct cultivation research, after the Federal Government in October announced it would legalise the growing of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

State Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair said the research would lay the foundations for future non-government cultivation.

"This is an important step forward that underpins the potential pharmaceutical supply of cannabis-based medicines made in Australia," he said.

"This cultivation research will build the additional evidence required to produce medicinal cannabis in New South Wales to guaranteed safety and quality standards."

Lucy Haslam heads a group called United in Compassion, set up following the death of her son Dan last year following a long battle with bowel cancer.

Ms Haslam has been campaigning relentlessly to change the perceptions about using cannabis to help the terminally ill.

"The commercial industry hasn't begun yet and it can't begin until the Federal Government approves regulations," Ms Haslam said.

"I see this as a great initiative by the NSW Government to get things started, because they recognise that there is so much to do ahead of planting the first medicinal crops."

Commonwealth regulations around the industry should be complete by the end of October.

"We're just working hard to be ready to apply when we are able to," Ms Haslam said.

Much to learn about complex cannabis plant

In the meantime, Ms Haslam anticipates the complexity of the cannabis plant and the conditions under which it grows will be a focus of the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) research.

"There's a lot to learn about this plant and there aren't too many experts in Australia. This will be an interesting process for the DPI, I am sure," she said.

Security around the cultivation sites will be strict.

The Government said its research would be conducted in a new state-of-the-art, high-security facility, under strict protocols.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce helped open United in Compassion's Tamworth facility in April. ( ABC New England: Tawar Razaghi )

United in Compassion has already purchased a property near Tamworth in northern NSW for growing cannabis, and Ms Haslam said the organisation realised security would be a significant capital cost.

"The hope is the crops will be in the ground next year, and that within 12-18 months patients will be accessing Australian-grown medical cannabis that is safe and reliable and affordable as well," she said.

Ms Haslam said her biggest fear was that multinational companies were already eyeing Australia as a lucrative new market.

"We're just hoping it can be promoted as an Australian initiative and an Australian industry, which keeps money in Australia," she said.

That wish appears to be one shared by the NSW Government.

"We have invested $21 million in a scientific approach to further our understanding about the safe and effective use of cannabis-based medicines, so our patients in New South Wales have access to the best treatments possible," Minister for Medical Research Pru Goward said.

"Our end goal is that we will see proven, standardised and legal pharmaceutical cannabis products that can be trusted and prescribed by health professionals."