In Australia, New South Wales branches of several leading national health organisations are collectively urging the Minns State Government to reform medicinal cannabis prescribing and dispensing.
The signatories to a letter to NSW Health Minister Ryan Park include the state branches of:
- The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP)
- Pharmacy Guild of Australia
- Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA)
- Australian Medical Association (AMA)
Among their concerns:
- Poor regulatory oversight, particularly around ‘vertically integrated’ cannabis clinics.
- Clinics operating predominantly using brief telehealth consultations.
- Clear conflicts of interest and “cannabis only” clinics effectively acting as a production line for the supply of products.
- Inappropriate prescribing and ” cynical promotion” of these products to patients.
- Singular focus on profit over quality healthcare.
The number of Australian patients using medical cannabis climbed steeply in a 5-year period; from 18,000 in 2019 to more than a million by January last year according to the organisations.
In terms of the “cynical promotion” mentioned above, the letter cites examples of improper naming of medicines.
” The fact that medicinal cannabis products are being sold with names such as “Joker Juice” or “Gelato Sherbert” is highly inappropriate — these are prescription medicines, not soft drinks,” a letter explainer says.
And according to the letter, patients are apparently learning the answers they need to provide a telehealth service to guarantee a script.
The organisations say medicinal cannabis products should be dispensed at community pharmacies, just like any other medicine.
“There is a place for medicinal cannabis products, but we need to prioritise the tools and regulatory environment that promote their safe and appropriate use,” said President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s NSW branch Luke Kelly. “More needs to be done to curtail online and remote services that, in many cases, don’t have adequate structures, checks and balances needed to deliver safe care.”
On a related note, a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) consultation concerning medicinal cannabis is entering its final days, with submissions needing to be lodged by 5pm Tuesday 7 October 2025. Among the triggers for the consultation were a number of examples of poor prescribing and dispensing practices; including one pharmacist who allegedly dispensed 959,000 cannabis products in a single year, which works out to more than 2,600 products a day.
