THE Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) have written a joint letter to Health Minister Mark Butler calling for urgent action to tackle the largely unregulated increase in medicinal cannabis prescribing and dispensing across the country.
The organisations expressed concerns about the overuse and inadequate regulation of prescribing practices, the prolonged reliance on special access schemes for medicinal cannabis, and the growing number of prescribing and dispensing clinics operating outside conventional models of care.
The letter also flagged issues around coercive tactics used by cannabis companies and the negative health impacts, especially on vulnerable groups.
The two peak bodies have lodged submissions to the TGA's review into the safety and regulatory oversight of unapproved medicinal cannabis products.
The organisations are calling on the government to:* enhance clinical governance through national safety and quality agencies;* support Ahpra in addressing inappropriate prescribing and dispensing practices;* reform the Special Access Scheme, limiting use to exceptional cases under strict supervision; and* encourage product registration on the ARTG for evidence-based indications within two years.
They also called for an immediate suspension of Category 5 products containing THC concentrations above 98%.
"We are seeing a system that is being exploited - with prescriptions issued without proper clinical oversight and patients bypassing their regular GP and pharmacist," said Guild National President Professor Trent Twomey.
"What began as a special pathway for medication has now become the norm, with thousands of products prescribed without safety, quality or efficacy controls," he said as he urged stronger governance and regulation to protect patients. KB
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