Narcotic Drugs Act 1967

If a person has made an application for a medicinal cannabis permit, the Secretary must decide whether to grant, or refuse to grant, the permit.

The Secretary may, subject to subsections (3) and (4), grant a medicinal cannabis permit if the Secretary considers it appropriate in all the circumstances to do so.

The Secretary may refuse to grant a medicinal cannabis permit if the Secretary is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the holder of the medicinal cannabis licence to which the permit relates has breached a condition of the licence.

The Secretary must refuse to grant a medicinal cannabis permit if:

the application fee (if any) has not been paid; or

the Secretary is not satisfied on reasonable grounds that applicable standards have been or will be met, as the case requires; or

the Secretary is satisfied on reasonable grounds that one or more circumstances exist that are prescribed by the regulations as circumstances in which a permit must not be granted; or

the Secretary is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the application for the permit contains information, or information has been given by the applicant in relation to the application, that:

is false or misleading in a material particular; or

omits any matter or thing without which the application is misleading in a material respect; or

the applicant has not complied with a requirement under subsection 14J(1) (additional information) in relation to the application; or

if the application for the permit relates to a medicinal cannabis licence that authorises the cultivation of cannabis plants but does not authorise the production of cannabis or cannabis resin—the Secretary is not satisfied on reasonable grounds that the cultivation of the cannabis plants is:

for the purposes of supply to the holder of a medicinal cannabis licence that authorises such production; or

for a purpose prescribed by the regulations; or

if the application for the permit relates to a medicinal cannabis licence that authorises the production of cannabis or cannabis resin but does not authorise the manufacture of a cannabis drug—the Secretary is not satisfied on reasonable grounds that the production of the cannabis or cannabis resin is:

for the purposes of supply to another holder of a medicinal cannabis licence that authorises such manufacture; or

for a purpose prescribed by the regulations.

The Secretary must have regard to any applicable guidelines (see subsection 26C(2)).

For the purposes of deciding whether to grant, or refuse to grant, a medicinal cannabis permit, the Secretary may require the applicant to provide access to premises at which activities authorised by the medicinal cannabis licence to which the permit relates will take place, for the purposes of inspecting the premises.