AUSTRALIANS are increasingly using medicinal cannabis to treat long-term health conditions such as chronic pain, anxiety and cancer- despite a lack of evidence for its effectiveness.
Some people go to their GP for a prescription, which they take to a pharmacy where the product is sold as an unapproved medicine.
However, many bypass their GP, buying it online from private medicinal cannabis clinics after a telehealth appointment with the clinic's doctor.
Research published this week in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry revealed that around half of these clinics are in breach of strict TGA advertising rules that apply to prescription-only unapproved medicines.
The team analysed the websites of 54 private medicinal cannabis clinics in Australia, checking for any references to medicinal cannabis, health claims, shared information from other sources about medicinal cannabis, or patient testimonials.
These are considered forms of promotion and are prohibited under TGA advertising guidelines.
Around 47% of clinics were considered in 'high breach' of regulations, by breaching two or more guidelines.
There were also safety concerns.
"Websites often allowed people to assess their own eligibility for medical cannabis," the authors said.
"Self-assessment may mislead people into believing they would benefit from it, inadvertently 'coaching' them on which conditions might warrant a prescription.
"Self-assessment might also lead people to believe they require more medicinal cannabis than is medically necessary," they warned.
Citing Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data, the authors noted there was a 10-fold increase in the number of people receiving prescriptions from 1.8% of all medicinal cannabis users in 2019 to 22% in 2022-23, suggesting improved access and greater acceptability of medicinal medicine within the healthcare system.
But that still leaves around three-quarters of patients buying it from these other sources.
"Medicinal cannabis clinics have undoubtedly improved patient access," wrote the authors.
"However," they added, "we need more stringent monitoring and regulation of how these clinics market themselves.
"Even if clinics are operating within the law, they also need to operate ethically to protect public health by prioritising patients' wellbeing over profit."
Read the full paper HERE. KB
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