A bill introduced to the federal parliament on Wednesday could allow licenced farmers to grow cannabis and Australian doctors and patients to access it for pain management.

Voices across the region believe farmers in the Riverina and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) are sitting in an ideal location to diversify and harness another market. 

NSW Farmers board member Helen Dalton said the region was the perfect place to grow medical marijuana because it was the food bowl of the nation.

“We’re in a perfect spot to do this,” she said. “It’s certainly warranted. Medical cannabis should be legalised. Most people I speak to are very, very supportive of legalising it.”

Ms Dalton tried growing hemp for clothing years ago, but tight regulations had made it too difficult. If the bill is passed, she plans to give it another nudge.

“They grow poppies in Tasmania and it’s highly regulated, but it seems to work,” she said. “There’s an opportunity for us in the MIA to diversify our crops. I support it 100 per cent.”

Griffith’s Kelly Cameron, who uses medical cannabis to deal with crippling arthritis, said it was a “win-win” situation – not only would it provide patients access to the drug, but also would boost the local economy by allowing farmers to tap into a new market. 

“There is no reason why farmers cannot grow it,” she said.

“I just believe rights should be given back to the public. So many people will benefit out of this.”

Health minister and member for Farrer Sussan Ley backed the region as an emerging cannabis market. 

“I understand that there is interest from farmers, including several in my own electorate and across the Riverina, seeking to diversify their farming practices, possibly into the cultivation of cannabis plants for the production of cannabis for medicinal purposes,” she said.

“I am supportive of farmers having access to the infrastructure that enables them, as primary producers, and farming families to be innovative, to farm differently than may have been done in the past and to come up with new ideas for new investments, to add value to a commodity and to transport that to market.”

The bill allows state and territory agencies to undertake cultivation and production activities that would otherwise only be authorised under a licence.