Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Cannabis in Australia
Medicinal Cannabis refers to legal, high-quality products made from raw cannabis plants, prepared under controlled conditions in pharmaceutical laboratories.
Legal preparations of cannabis use modified active components of the plant, which maximise the therapeutic benefit and minimise side effects.
Pharmaceutical products in tablet, capsule, spray, or oil form mean the dose and strength of the product can be controlled and standardised.
On 30 October 2016, federal legislation was introduced which enables the legal cultivation, production and manufacturing of medicinal cannabis products in Australia.
Medicinal cannabis was down-scheduled by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) from a prohibited substance (Schedule 9) to a controlled drug (Schedule 8) effective from 1 November 2016.
Medicinal cannabis is only legal with a prescription. Recreational use is still prohibited.
In Australia, on December 31st, 2019, there was over 130 conditions that were accepted for medicinal cannabis treatment.
In order to determine your eligibility, you must have a consultation with a Doctor.
So, the first step towards Medicinal Cannabis is to see your usual GP, Doctor or Specialist.
You can also find a list of prescribing Telehealth Doctors available Australia wide at: https://www.thecannabiscentre.com.au/doctors
You may be eligible for Medical Cannabis if:
You have one of the 130 pre-approved conditions;
You are taking or have tried taking standard medicine/s that been unsuccessful or produced side effects.
Once you have been prescribed Medicinal Cannabis you can take your prescription to any Pharmacy and collect your medicine (1-3 business days).
All medications have the potential to cause unwanted side effects and medicinal cannabis is no exception.
These side effects may include:
Nausea and vomiting
Changes in appetite
Diarrhoea
Difficulty with concentration
Difficulty thinking and memory recall
Dizziness or loss of balance
Drowsiness
If you have any side effects or concerns throughout the duration of your treatment course, please consult with your GP and/or prescribing Doctor to ensure appropriate measures are taken to monitor those side effects or concerns.
The TGA advises that “while drowsiness is not a known side effect of CBD alone, it may occur if the CBD interacts with other medications. Some medicinal cannabis products may also include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in which case there is a strict ban on driving and operating machinery”.
The advice we have been given during our dealings with both QLD and NSW Police is that patients must have their prescription on their person if they are driving and have been taking THC or CBD/THC Ratio medicines. As the capsules are swallowed, they are less likely to present a reading in a saliva sample test than an oil tincture taken sublingually.
In Australia many Doctors have not received formal training in prescribing medicinal cannabis or may not be familiar with the pathways to access medicinal cannabis.
If you believe your Doctor isn’t willing to prescribe because of lack of information you can give your Doctor the “Doctor Fact Sheet” included in this booklet;
Alternatively, if you believe your Doctor is not interested in prescribing medicinal cannabis, you can access Doctors who have been trained and can issue prescriptions at the following link: https://www.thecannabiscentre.com.au/doctors
If you are going to access medicinal cannabis via a Doctor other than your usual Doctor, ask your Doctor to complete the following “Doctor Referral Document” so that you can submit to a Prescribing Doctor from https://www.thecannabiscentre.com.au/doctors
In regards to absorption via oral route of administration, the absorption of the content of the capsules takes place in the GI tract and is metabolised through the liver, as opposed to a sublingual or inhalation route of administration.
Effects of the medicine taken orally in a capsule or dosage form will generally take place between 30-45 mins, possibly longer.
Cannabis has a superior safety profile. Side effects are mostly related to THC - the psychoactive component of the plant.
CBD is considered to be of very low toxicity - doses of 1000mg/kg appear to have been safely tolerated in humans.
The safety ratio of THC is 1:1000. Therefore one would need to have 1000 consecutive doses to reach a lethal dose putting the safety ratio at 1:1000. In comparison to this, the safety ratio of codeine is 1:20.
The only known contraindications of cannabis are as follows:
Cannabis is not recommended for pregnant or lactating women.
Cannabis is not recommended for patients with a history of psychosis - except for CBD predominant formulations which have no psychoactive effect.
Caution should be exercised using THC with unstable cardiac patients due to tachycardia and possible hypotension caused by THC.
Any medication that contains THC can hinder your attention and concentration, which affects a person’s ability to drive and operate machinery.
In most states in Australia, it is an offence to drive with THC present in your system, regardless of whether the THC comes from prescribed legal medicinal cannabis or illicit recreational cannabis.
It is recommended that people using medicinal cannabis with THC do not drive.