Cannabis campaigner Alan Gordon has called on faster action to allow medical marijuana in Bermuda.

And as of yesterday afternoon, more than 370 people had signed an online petition to allow seriously ill Bermudians access to medical marijuana.

Mr Gordon said he was inspired to start the petition as a result of two friends with recurring cancer which conventional treatments have not been able to cure.

While he noted that the Cannabis Reform Collaborative have been tasked with producing a report on medical marijuana and decriminalisation, he said action must be taken sooner.

“All over the world governments allow cancer patients to have medical cannabis, not only to ease side effects of toxic treatments but even to fight the cancer itself,” Mr Gordon said.

“This stuff can really save lives. One recent study found that at least six different cannabis chemicals shrink tumours and that they work best in the presence of the other anti-tumour cannabinoids, not isolated from one another such as you might find in patented pharmaceutical plant extracts.”

He also said the Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 already allows the Minister responsible to make case-by-case exceptions to the general ban on cannabis and urged the Minister to publish rules for successful applications, saying common law forbids “invisible guidelines”.

Government announced in the Throne Speech that it would produce a public consultation paper on the subject of the decriminalisation of cannabis and the use of medical marijuana in Bermuda.