The state governments of Queensland, NSW and Victoria have joined forces for medicinal cannabis clinical trials.

Queensland and Victoria are now on board with a trial launched last year by the NSW Government, which will look at ways to treat patients with drug-resistant and uncontrollable epilepsy.

The agreement means anyone on the east coast suffering terminal or life-threatening conditions can take part in the clinical trials.

The study will be undertaken in three phases, each testing the use of cannabis in providing relief for patients.

The first trial will be open to children with severe drug-resistant epilepsy, and is set to start next year.

“There’s a series of experts that oversee the eligibility for who gets to partake and we'll be doing all we can to support Victorian families and Victorian kids who meet that eligibility criteria to participate in the trial,” Victoria's Health Minister Jill Hennessy said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the trial will look for ways to help kids that suffer from life-threatening seizures.

“Sometimes they're happening on a weekly and a daily basis, being rushed to hospital and this medical cannabis oil, there's scientific research which says that it can alleviate the pain that these young children are going through,” she said.

The clinical trials will set up a framework within which the idea of regulated medical cannabis in the state can be investigated.

But, the trials are dependent on the advice of medical researchers.

“If they advise us they want to take a longer approach, particularly with complex illnesses like epilepsy - there are neurological aspects of that - we'll have paediatric neurologists, senior adult neurologists involved in that,” Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick said.

“You have to look at the different types of treatments and the different types of illnesses which are all unique.

“We don't want to cut off one path for treatment of people just to get an outcome in one particular area.”

The Australian Medical Association Queensland (AMAQ) supports the trial.

“We think it's a great idea - we've always wanted to get further evidence to see if this is something that we can use, medically or not,” AMAQ president Dr Shaun Rudd told the ABC.

“Hopefully with the trials we'll find out what components of the cannabis itself is the useful ones for medical treatment.”