Olivia Newton John says everyone should have access to medical cannabis

The actor uses the drug to manage stage four breast cancer

Actor Olivia Newton John has called for medical cannabis to be available to everyone amid her battle with breast cancer.

"[This time last year] I was flat on my back in the centre [the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre],” the 71-year-old told the crowd at the annual Wellness Walk and Research Run in Melbourne on 6 October.

“This year, through treatment and medicinal cannabis, I am feeling fantastic.”

"I hope to be able to soon offer [medical cannabis] to everyone - that's my dream,” she continued.

This is the third time Newton-John has been diagnosed with breast cancer since 1992.

While her stage four cancer is incurable, it can be managed with treatment and the Grease star spoke out last year about her use of cannabis to help her cope with any pain she experiences.

She also told reporters she was ‘thrilled’ with the recent decision by Australia’s government to provide $3 million dollars (£1.64 million) of funding into research exploring how medicinal cannabis can help cancer patients.

“I’m so excited,” Newton John said.

“It’s helped me incredibly, with pain, with sleep, with anxiety. Particularly when I had to wean myself off morphine and I used cannabis which is not going to kill you like opiates can.”

Newton-John and her husband, John Easterling, a wellness entrepreneur, grow their own cannabis crop at their Californian home.

The English-Australian actor has previously described her treatment schedule, saying she ingests the cannabis within a morning drink and then via drops throughout the day.

“My husband hands me all these herbs every morning and makes me a green algae drink,” she said in March 2018.

“He grows the plants and makes them into liquid for me. I take drops maybe four to five times a day.”

However cannabis still holds risk: a recent study found that regular cannabis use can double the possibility of developing psychosis, including conditions like schizophrenia.