Cannabis News
Prescribed cannabis is on the rise, but most Australian users are self-medicating
Australians are increasingly accessing prescribed cannabis, but most continue to self-medicate.
An Australian national survey on medical cannabis has been published by researchers from the Lambert Initiative at the University of Sydney.
Approximately 1,600 people who consume cannabis medicinally took part in the survey between September 2020 and January 2021, with the majority (95%) reporting positive outcomes.
Medical cannabis prescriptions have increased significantly since a previous survey, researchers found.
Despite only 2.5 percent reporting prescription use in 2018, 37 percent said they now use legal medical cannabis.
Regulatory applications by doctors to prescribe medicinal cannabis products increased from 231 in 2017 to 122,490 in 2021, according to the paper.
A majority of participants (62%) reported sourcing medical cannabis illicitly in the past year, despite this significant increase.
Women and older individuals were more likely to use prescribed cannabis.
Prescribed Cannabis: A number of benefits
The existing model was only rated easy to navigate by 24 percent of prescribed patients.
Three percent of illicit medical cannabis users said the process was straightforward.
Most medical cannabis users used it to treat chronic pain, while most illicit users used it for mental health or sleep problems.
Almost half (47%) of illicit cannabis users said they were not pursuing a legal prescription due to high costs – which are currently at an average of A$79.36 per week – nor did they know any doctors who could prescribe it.
According to a quarter of respondents, their doctor was unwilling to prescribe.
As a result, more work needs to be done to improve healthcare professional education, the researchers said.
Sixteen percent preferred illicit products over medically available products, and 19 percent were concerned about confidentiality.
According to Professor Nicholas Lintzeris from the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, “The data suggests medical cannabis use has transitioned from mostly illicit to legal”.
“A number of benefits were identified in moving to prescribed products, particularly where consumers reported safer ways of using medical cannabis. People using illicit cannabis were more likely to smoke their cannabis, compared to people using prescribed products who were more likely to use oral products or vaporised cannabis, highlighting a health benefit of using prescribed products.”
