A BILL to allow medicinal cannabis crops to be grown commercially in Australia is likely to pass federal Parliament this year, Liberal Senator Ian Macdonald says.

The Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2014 is a private members bill initiated by Greens Senator Richard Di Natale and co-sponsored by Senator Macdonald, Tasmanian Labor Senator Ann Urquhart and Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm.

Senator Macdonald said Parliamentary support for the Bill was “almost unanimous” and he expected it to pass by the end of this year.

“We’ve just got to get the technicalities right,” the Queensland politician said.

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Senator Macdonald said the Bill’s intention was to allow farmers to grow regulated cannabinoid crops – with rules similar to those that govern Tasmanian poppy crops – and to allow pharmacists to distribute product as prescriptions.

He said the Bill was not intended to make it legal for individuals to grow their can­nabis and would specify cultiv­ars bred to produce high levels of beneficial cannabinoids and negligible levels of the drug Tetrahydrocannabinol.

Senator Macdonald said a decision needed to be made on whether cannabinoids would be controlled by the Therapeutic Goods Authority or a new regulator and the bill needed fine tuning to comply with Australia’s international treaty obligations.

Senator Urquhart said the Bill, if “done properly” could dramatically increase the number of Tasmanians who could benefit from cannabis, without the fear of prosecution and seizure of their supplies.

Cannabinoid has been found to ease chronic pain, muscle spasms and chemotherapy side effects.

Federal Health Minster Sussan Ley said the Government wanted to ensure Australians had the most effective medical treatments available for chronic pain and illness.

Ms Ley said she would consider closely a Senate committee report recommending significant structural amendments to this Bill.

The committee last week recommended support for the Bill, once amended.

Tasmanian Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the Government supported the trial and potential use of cannabis-derived products in Tasmania, “subject to a proper evidence-based approach, strong regulatory framework and appropriate approvals from national regulators”.