MCN speaks with Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration about medical cannabis regulation and access.

Just how big is the market for low-dose CBD medication? Australia’s leading industry data source reports that 20% of patients are taking low-dose CBD.

Australians might be looking at a cleared path to cannabis medications as soon as next year. 

The Australian government made an interim decision earlier this month (Sept. 9) to bring low-dose CBD medication over-the-counter.

For Australian football player Ryan Gale, his previous years of athletic glory have been replaced by a harsh new reality.

Gales lives with chronic pain due to his injuries and required a hip replacement at just 33-years-old.

“I don’t think I ever went one week without pain somewhere,” Gale told 7NEWS.

Researchers at the University of Sydney’s Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics and Brain and Mind Centre will investigate whether cannabidiol is an effective alternative for treating chronic pain caused by spinal injury.

The research team has been awarded $1.7 million to support the project, made up of  $1.45 million from NSW Health and $350,000 from the University.

The study’s lead investigator, Professor Luke Henderson – an expert in human brain imaging and pain, says half of spinal cord injury patients will develop chronic pain and current treatment options have been proven ineffective. Not only that, these treatments can introduce side effects making the condition worse.

A growing number of Australians support the legalization of cannabis, while almost three in five back the idea of pill testing, according to a new national survey.

The 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey also shows Australians are drinking and smoking less, but some illicit drug use is on the rise.

Importantly, this national snapshot, released on Thursday, shows the Australian community is becoming more open to less punitive measures around drug use.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had a busy July in relation to approving applications for medicinal cannabis products.

Australia’s Special Access Scheme (SAS) enables suitably authorised health practitioners to access therapeutic products not included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). The only cannabis product currently included in the ARTG is Sativex (nabiximols), which contains THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).

There are several different pathways to gaining approval for cannabis medications through the SAS – categories A, B and C. Medical cannabis applications are generally via the Category B pathway.

Some doctors in Western Australian and their patients should have easier and faster access to medical cannabis resulting from a deal signed between Jupiter Health Clinics and Montu.

Founded in 2011, Jupiter Health and Medical Services is a network of more than 300 doctors in 30 medical practices across the state, and is one of the largest networks of GPs in Western Australia.

Montu works with doctors in Australia to support them in developing pathways to medical cannabis access for their patients. It also has a brand of medical cannabis products called “Circle” that are produced as part of a white label agreement with Canadian licensed producer, Aleafia Health Inc.

A clear majority of young people in Australia have never tried cannabis, but about one in seven would be open to giving it go if the plant was legalized, according to the results of a survey.

That was the finding of a recent study by researchers from the University of Queensland’s National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research and the School of Psychology, who considered poll data from 3,000-plus adolescents and young adults, according to the university.