PSA on medical cannabis
August 17, 2015
The Pharmaceutical Society
of Australia (PSA) has released a
position paper on the investigation
of the potential therapeutic value
of and therefore possible medicinal
uses for cannabis.
Titled Therapeutic use of
cannabis, the paper does not
attempt to address legal issues
around the supply of the drug
in Australia, bearing in mind the
ongoing discussions on the subject,
the PSA said.
The main tenets of the position
statement are that in some medical
conditions cannabis has provided
positive outcomes to individuals
who may not have experienced
comparable therapeutic benefits
from other clinically proven
medicines or treatment protocols.
“Consistent with Australia’s
National Medicines Policy, the
pharmacy profession supports
timely access to medicines for all
Australians,” the position paper
states.
“We therefore support the
development of an appropriate
regulatory framework which
would allow formal research to
be undertaken to investigate the
potential benefits of therapeutic
use of cannabis.
“We welcome the announcement
of clinical trials with appropriate
medical oversight and informed
consent provided by the patient
and carer,” the paper states.
The PSA added that when
standardised products containing
cannabis have been evaluated
for quality and safety, they must
be used, with open availability of
research outcomes to establish a
body of evidence.
The paper also calls for
pharmacist education in relation to
medicinal cannabis.
The PSA also said it would
support pharmacists working in
collaboration with health care team
members to provide advice on all
medicines which are tailored to the
needs of the patient and carers.
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