The clinic is the first in a $2.4million program that will establish cannabis clinics in western and southern Sydney, the NSW central coast and the state’s central west.

AUSTRALIA’S first detoxification clinic for marijuana smokers will open by year’s end in western Sydney, the NSW Government announced yesterday.

The clinic is the first in a $2.4million program that will establish cannabis clinics in western and southern Sydney, the NSW central coast and the state’s central west.

Parramatta, in Sydney’s west, was chosen as the clinic’s location to ensure it was separate from established drug and alcohol dependence facilities, where marijuana users who want to stop have been ridiculed by hardcore heroin addicts or alcoholics.

Launching the program, Special Minister of State John Della Bosca said heavy canna bis use could have serious psychological, physiological and social effects. While most who tried cannabis did not become regular users, some developed dependence, which could lead to problems of motivation and holding a job.

“The clinic will provide the medical expertise, surroundings and encouragement to help cannabis users maintain the personal motivation required to beat an addiction.”