A multi-million dollar business has sprung up in Australia to satisfy the demand for medicinal cannabis. Australia spent. Over A$400 million Only in the primary half of 2024.
More Australians than ever are using medicinal cannabis for treatment. Long-term health conditionscorresponding to chronic pain, anxiety and cancer. Some go to their GP and receive a prescription, which they take to a pharmacy. But many individuals ignore their GP. Instead, they buy it online from a non-public medicinal cannabis clinic after a telehealth appointment with the clinic's doctor.
However, once we checked out the web sites of those clinics, we found many examples of aggressive and misleading marketing. Some clinics violated regulatory guidelines. Others bent the principles.
Our A new study Shows how common it's and why we're so concerned concerning the implications for public safety.
Medicinal cannabis is legal, but expensive.
Medicinal cannabis. Legally available. In Australia since 2016. That means doctors can prescribe it – as a capsule, oil or dried flower, for instance – for any medical condition when other approved treatments aren't working.
As of 2022-23 National Drug Strategy Household Survey3% of Australians aged 14 and over had used cannabis for medical purposes previously 12 months, which equates to around 700,000 people.
There are also variety of versions. It increased tenfold Between 2019 and 2022-23, indicates higher access and greater acceptance of medicinal cannabis within the healthcare system.
But most medicinal cannabis products should not officially approved for medical use. Administration of therapeutic equipment (TGA), Australia's medicines regulator. it”UnapprovedMedical products haven't been tested for safety, quality or effectiveness.
They are too. No subsidy Through the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme. This means patients should pay for it themselves.
The cost of medicinal cannabis can range from A$50 to $1,000 For one week supply. The exact amount relies on the patient's medical condition, the required dose and the form of product prescribed.
Medicinal cannabis is heavily marketed.
The growth of the industry has been overshadowed by some questionable medical practices of profitable cannabis medical clinics.
For example, TGA Ban on advertising of medicinal cannabis (and any unapproved drugs) to forestall unnecessary public demand and unsafe prescribing.
But in 2023-24, the TGA imposed collective fines on businesses that broke the rule. over A$1.1 million and took legal action. for alleged illegal promoting. Businesses were allegedly promoting cannabis for serious medical conditions or allegedly representing that their products were approved or endorsed by the TGA.
So we investigated this by analyzing the web sites of 54 private medicinal cannabis clinics in Australia.
We searched Google for clinics using key words corresponding to “plant medicine” and “green medicine”. We then checked out their web sites and checked whether or not they followed the TGA guidelines.
We examined whether their web sites made any references to medicinal cannabis, health claims, information shared from other sources about medicinal cannabis, or used patient reviews. These are considered types of promotion. Therefore including such content on clinic web sites could be in breach of TGA guidelines.
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Here's what we found.
Our investigation revealed widespread breaches of TGA guidelines.
The commonest was the usage of cannabis images on web sites or logos. Clinics also avoided using “medicinal cannabis” of their trade names and as a substitute used terms corresponding to “plant medicine” to comply with TGA guidelines. Cannabis industry awards also appeared on web sites.
Another common violation was making unsubstantiated health claims concerning the advantages of medicinal cannabis, including that it may well treat anxiety, depression, or other mental health symptoms. It is mirrored. Results A retrospective evaluation of tweets about medicinal cannabis.
Websites often allow people to evaluate their eligibility for medicinal cannabis. Self-diagnosis can mislead people into believing they are going to profit from it, inadvertently “coaching” them on which medical conditions may warrant a prescription. Self-diagnosis may also lead people to consider that they need more medicinal cannabis than is medically mandatory.
Other marketing strategies we found include:
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Same day or next hour delivery
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GP referrals should not required.
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Discounted consulting fees
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Careful delivery
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Targeted promoting on social media.
These practices challenge the intent of the TGA guidelines to make sure responsible prescribing, and push the boundaries of legitimate prescribing.
While TGA has issued Millions of dollars in fines In recent years, and initiated legal proceedings regarding the marketing of medicinal cannabis, our study suggests that such violations proceed.
Unsafe prescription
one ABC Media reports 2024 has been accused of other unsafe prescribing practices.
These included allegations of cannabis clinics repeatedly selling products containing THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) to people affected by psychosis or mental health conditions. THC Can be damaged Increases psychological symptoms, mental health and risk of relapse.
In one incident, a person with a mental health condition tragically took his own life after being prescribed medicinal cannabis. Despite this, the clinic reportedly continued to send packages of medicinal cannabis to him despite pleas from his family to stop.
Play by the principles
Medical cannabis clinics have undoubtedly improved patient access. However, we want more strict monitoring and regulation of how these clinics market themselves.
Even if clinics are operating throughout the law, they still must act ethically to guard public health by prioritizing the well-being of patients over profit.
Using terms like “plant medicine” as a substitute of “medicinal cannabis,” for instance, may technically comply with the regulations but still mislead people. It also risks undermining public confidence within the health care system.