EVIDENCE-BASED guidance documents on the use of medicinal cannabis have been released to Australian consumers and health professionals by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) following extensive research and consultation.
Health professionals have long held concerns around supportive evidence when trying to meet the needs and expectations of patients wanting to access cannabis for a range of therapeutic uses.
"The Commonwealth Department of Health, in conjunction with state and territory governments, has helped coordinate the development new clinical guidance documents for prescribers of medicinal cannabis products for treating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic non-cancer pain and palliative care, as well as an overview document," the TGA announced.
Universities of New South Wales, Sydney and Queensland co-ordinated by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre reviewed the clinical evidence for the use of medicinal cannabis that had been published in refereed medical journals since 1980.
A number of organisations around Australia developed the guidance documents springing from the research: 18 patient and consumer representative groups, all state and territory health departments, 15 health care professional organisations, clinical staff from 29 hospitals and health care systems and 14 outpatient or primary health networks.
The TGA said the documents which include both healthcare professional and consumer direction, have also been endorsed by the Australian Advisory Council on the Medicinal Use of Cannabis.
As well as overview documents for health professionals and consumers, each of the researched therapeutic uses have their own complete guidance documents.
Visit tga.gov.au to see all documents, a Q&A section and how to access medicinal cannabis.
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