Greens leader Richard Di Natale is pushing to legalise medical marijuana, and says the Turnbull government would be foolish to get in the way.

Senator Di Natale will soon put up a bill to be voted on in the Senate vote, and has called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to get on board.

The bill has cross-party support, and Senator Di Natale says he will press Mr Turnbull for support when they meet in Canberra this week.

“I think there's a groundswell of support for it now and the government would have to be particularly foolish to stand in the way of getting this reform through,” Senator Di Natale told Fairfax Media.

The call came just days after Victoria announced it is looking at legalising marijuana cultivation for the treatment of serious conditions like cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDS.

But Senator Di Natale says Victoria needs Commonwealth legislation for its plan to work.

So, he is looking to sey up a new federal medical marijuana regulator that would oversee the production, distribution and use of the drug.

The federal Health Department and the Therapeutic Goods Administration has expressed concerns about the plan, which received strong backing from a Senate committee in August.

Health Minister Sussan Ley is reportedly reluctant about the plans for an official regulator, and the TGA is understood to be lobbying hard against the proposal as well.

Reports say the TGA wants to administer medical marijuana itself.

Ms Ley has told Fairfax reporters that the government is “sympathetic” towards Australians suffering from chronic pain and illness, but that it is very important to create the right pathway to medicinal cannabis access.

“We also strongly support evidence-based medicine and ensuring new treatments are clinically trialled and proven before being approved for public use,” she said.

“The Senate committee report into this bill recommends significant structural amendments and this is something I will consider closely and continue to discuss with my parliamentary colleagues.”

Senator Di Natale insists that the legislation is very nearly ready to go.

He says that Ms Ley could opt for a new phase of clinical trials, which would only create new delays.

“There is overwhelming evidence of the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis for a number of conditions and it should be made available for those conditions immediately,” he said.

“Simply adopting more clinical trials has the potential to delay any real change for up to five years.”