Your Monday News Roundup: Medicinal Weed Now Available in NSW and a Vandalised Mosque in Adelaide

Lemon Kush, not yet available in NSW but a lot more aesthetically interesting than pharmaceuticals. Image by Flickr user Mark.

From Today, doctors in New South Wales will be able to prescribe medical marijuana for patients suffering a range of illnesses. After changes announced by NSW Premier Mike Baird Sunday, doctors will be able to apply to the Commonwealth Therapeutic Goods Administration for a license to prescribe medical marijuana.

To be available for prescription, a marijuana-based product must have passed clinical trials in either Australia or one of several other pre-approved countries. Currently, no products produced in Australia meet these standards, making it unlikely that NSW doctors will fill out prescriptions for tinctures or seeds. Instead foreign-made alternatives, such as Dronabinol, which is used to treat appetite loss in AIDS patients and sufferers of anorexia, will be made available immediately. The complete list of regulations is available here.

These legislative changes come as part of the NSW government's $21 million plan to support " Medical Cannabis Research and Innovation" in the state. A release by the NSW government has suggested that the medical marijuana industry may play an important role in the state's regional economy in years to come.

On Friday Prime Minister Turnbull held a press conference to announce the Government will not be nominating any person for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations"—meaning he was killing off Rudd's two year mission to become SG. "My judgement is that Mr Rudd is not [suitable] and I've explained to him the reasons why. I don't want to go into them here today," he told an audience of journalists.

Later that day three letters were leaked from the Labor office illustrating how Rudd had discussed the issue several times with Turnbull and apparently received his approval. The final letter, written less that 24 hours before Turnbull made his announcement, asked for "a quiet meeting" with the PM. "I would simply ask for the right to be heard," explained Rudd.

Presumably this meeting did not take place.

Labor leader Bill Shorten later called Turnbull's actions pathetic. "They're disappointing," he told reporters in Darwin. "A distinguished Australian has been treated in a very shabby fashion for nothing more than, I think, petty politics."

For his part Rudd has only tweeted a fairly diplomatic statement, thanking "Australian Foreign Minister Bishop and her ministerial colleagues for their support."

Following the Four Corners report into abuse at Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre, Former judge Brian Martin was put in charge of a royal commission, only to announce his resignation on Monday morning.

Martin appeared suitable for the role, having formerly served as the Northern Territory's chief justice. He's also prominent within the Australian legal community, having presided over several high profile cases including that of British backpacker Peter Falconio.

Yet Bryan Martin contacted the Governor General to request his removal from the post— emphasising his change of heart wasn't political. Rather, Martin is concerned that the extensive media coverage will jeopardise the career of his daughter Joanna, who worked as an advisor for the Northern Territory government in 2010.

It's currently unknown who will replace Martin in the role.

Adelaide's Elizabeth Grove Mosque was vandalised with neo-nazi graffiti on Friday night. The mosque was tagged with the words "No Muslim," alongside several poorly drawn swastikas and the letters 88, a common neo-Nazi symbol standing for "Heil Hitler"—H being the eighth letter of the alphabet.

"We're not scared or intimidated and it's not going to stop us coming together and serving the community," wrote Imran Lum on Facebook, whose family runs the mosque. Another Facebook post by the Islamic Society of South Australia stated "We hope to see the authorities take the matter seriously as another and equally dangerous form of extremism."

You may remember the Queensland seat of Herbert from the past few months of relentless election coverage. It's the one that has been sitting on a total knife's edge—the incumbent LNP candidate Ewen Jones and Labor candidate Cathy O'Toole both winning about 50 percent of the public vote. The initial count put O'Toole ahead by only eight votes, which forced a recount that came to an end over the weekend.

As of Sunday, O'Toole has just edged ahead, with Jones conceding his loss and congratulating his opponent. While the AEC are yet to formally declare the seat, a spokesperson told the ABC that Labor was ahead by 37 votes and this was enough to ensure victory.

Unfortunately for all concerned, the Herbert drama probably doesn't end here. The LNP have issued a statement that flags possible court action, "examining a number of issues reported to the party to determine if all Herbert electors were given the opportunity to vote." The LNP have clung to this seat for 20 years, and they're clearly not going down without a fight.

NSW Labor Leader Luke Foley told a media conference on Sunday, "Let's regulate greyhound racing, not criminalise it." The Opposition Leader stated that he wanted to "establish a regulatory body with a mandate for the highest standards of animal welfare."

Labor's reform plan means establishing a greyhound racing watchdog which exists separately to the industry's commercial arm. Currently, no such independent regulator exists, which many have blamed for the widespread animal rights abuses within greyhound racing.

Foley stated Sunday that his party hopes to instigate "mandatory life bans and prison terms for anyone who engages in the despicable practice of live baiting."

Following reports that the Australian section of Rio's Olympic Village was unfit for habitation, suffering blocked toilets, leaking pipes, and exposed bits of wire poking out of the walls, it seems things have gone from bad to worse. A Friday night fire forced some members of the team to evacuate their apartment complex for half an hour. Then, while some were lingering outside, several of their laptops and team shirts were stolen.

The Guardian reports that the basement fire was caused by someone carelessly tossing a cigarette into a rubbish bin. The ensuing chaos forced about 100 staff members and athletes to evacuate. Not everyone was evacuated though, as a number of fire alarms were disabled for unknown reasons. In fact one athlete, shooter, Warren Potent, slept through the whole thing.

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