Medical marijuana, or medicinal cannabis, is a controlled substance made from the cannabis plant. Since 2016, most doctors in Australia have been legally allowed to recommend medical cannabis to their patients. However, various states and territories have varied rules and limits on which doctors and other medical practitioners are allowed to write prescriptions.

You’ll get an overview of the prescriber paths and find out who can prescribe medical cannabis in your area. You’ll also find out why cannabis clinics exist and how they may be beneficial to you as a health practitioner.

Legalizing cannabis for medical use in Australia?

Patients and other medical professionals sometimes incorrectly assume that a doctor must have specialised training or a licence to administer certain medications. In Australia, medical cannabis can be prescribed by any licenced physician, specialist, or nurse practitioner. However, familiarity with the application procedure comes first.

In addition, there are cannabis clinics that focus on treating certain ailments using their expert understanding of the plant’s medical properties. Although many general practitioners (GPs) are licenced to administer medicine at cannabis clinics, certain clinics do employ psychiatrists, oncologists, pain specialists, rheumatologists, and neurologists.

hospitals have the ability to prescribe medical cannabis, it is not often done. Moreover, not all Australian jurisdictions allow nurse practitioners to prescribe; regulations in this area differ. If a nurse practitioner wants to learn more about the specific requirements for licensure in their state, they should contact the nursing and midwifery board in their area.

Distinctions between state and federal mandates exist.

All fifty states and the District of Columbia must adhere to the federal guidelines for medical marijuana prescriptions. The TGA accepts applications from health professionals through either the SAS or AP channels. However, certain populations may need to fill out supplementary forms specific to their state.

For instance, the quantity of THC that can be prescribed in a day varies widely amongst states. In the states of Western Australia and South Australia, the maximum allowed concentration of inhaled floral products is 20%. Children and those with substance misuse histories are two groups who may need a doctor’s stamp of permission in some jurisdictions. These are further safety measures that the state has deemed necessary to protect the wellbeing of its residents.

This regulation pertains to the location of the prescriber, not the patient.

The Function of the Cannabis Clinic in the Medical Marijuana Industry

As a result of a growing demand, many clinics have opened their doors to the public. The endocannabinoid system and the medicinal potential of cannabis are still poorly understood by many in the medical establishment. 

Medicinal cannabis clinics are medical facilities with staff trained in the use of cannabis for the treatment of a wide range of medical problems. These facilities do not replace the patient’s main care provider. 

To ensure that primary care physicians are apprised of all pertinent information on their patients’ care, the majority of these facilities maintain open lines of communication. 

The primary care provider of a patient should keep an eye on the effects, benefits, and interactions with the patient’s existing treatment plan.

You should know a little bit about medical cannabis if you want to recommend it to patients. There are several resources around the country that provide this type of material, including self-study guides and more formal online and in-person classes. Medicinal cannabis trials often begin with a referral to a clinic for a patient.

Options for Medical Cannabis Prescribing

There are two primary methods for obtaining a prescription for medical cannabis: the Special Access Scheme B (SAS B) and the Authorized Prescriber (AP) paths.

When treating patients, doctors may use the Special Access Scheme to write prescriptions for experimental or experimentally modified treatments not covered by the PBS. Over the years, it has served as a conduit for delivering cannabis to doctors who prescribe the drug.

You can submit an application for a Special Access Scheme (SAS) prescription via the Therapeutic Goods Administration online. A product-targeted screenplay is written when a category is approved.

Only doctors and other medical professionals with prior prescription expertise are eligible to participate in the Authorized Prescriber Scheme. Applying to the TGA and, in some situations, receiving ethics approval, is required to become an AP.

If you are accepted as an AP, you will be allowed to sell just certain types of items under particular terms. Each individual patient is no longer required to submit an application to the TGA if you are an AP. It’s important to keep track of a few different metrics every six months.

Procedures for submitting a TGA application

The SAS programme, contrary to popular belief, does not require an extremely lengthy time to run. Your initial submission may take a long, but with practise, you’ll be able to do it in about 10 minutes. Keep in mind that the TGA will never outright refuse your application. When an application is rejected, extra details or reasoning must be provided.

Time required for TGA approval of an application varies. Application approval times typically range from one day to one week. Whether or whether your contribution is prioritised depends on how busy the TGA is when you make it.

Summary

Getting licenced to prescribe medical cannabis isn’t as difficult as many doctors believe it is. Any MD, DO, or NP, as well as the vast majority of N.P.s, can legally prescribe medication.

If you think that medicinal cannabis may assist a patient but you don’t feel confident prescribing it, sending the patient to a clinic is one option. You should perform your own research and start prescribing cannabis if you believe your patient benefits from it. 

You’ll have a better handle on patients who request or require medical cannabis, and you’ll have access to a new and useful medical resource.

Finally

We know you might be curios to find out more information and discuss medicinal cannabis uses, or where to get legal medicinal cannabis products in Australia, or who is authorised to prescribe medicinal cannabis products to you, and we know lots of people are also worried about the use of medicinal cannabis. 

For all these, schedule a consultation session today with our experts at Chronic Therapy to get professional advice about any medicinal cannabis product or medicinal use of the product to maximise your benefits from it.