PENINGTON Institute has released its 2025 annual report, Cannabis in Australia 2025, charting the major shifts shaping Australia's cannabis landscape - medicinal and illicit.
Report findings suggest that demand for medicinal cannabis appears to be plateauing, with product sales stabilising after years of rapid growth.
Prescription trends are shifting, according to the report, with access to edible cannabis medicines almost doubling over the past year, potentially signalling a move away from smoked flower.
However, with Australia still relying overwhelmingly on imported cannabis medicines - two-thirds of the medicinal cannabis supplied in 2024 came from overseas - domestic growers are being sidelined leaving patients exposed to supply chain risks.
Penington Institute said reforms must focus on protecting patients and building a strong, evidence-based regulatory system - not pushing people back into the illicit market.
The report also highlighted the allegations of unethical or clinically unsound practices that have prompted sharp criticism from health bodies (PD 14 Oct), suggesting that "the system's growth far beyond original expectations has generated increasing strain".
Read the report HERE.
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