Doubtful medical cannabis prescribing practices identified from 55 medical cannabis websites

NCYSUR PhD candidate Ms Danielle Dawson and colleagues have published a research letter warning Australasian psychiatrists that their study of medicinal cannabis prescribing websites found many offer free consultations, same-day appointments, and free home delivery, in many cases not requiring a health summary from a patient’s usual treating doctor.

NCYSUR has previously published a research letter finding widespread non-compliance with TGA guidelines on the promotion and advertisement of medicinal cannabis clinics in Australia.

These findings suggest that medicinal cannabis prescribing in some settings differs from prescribing of other medications in that the selection of the medicine precedes diagnosis. Inappropriate prescribing could increase risks associated with the dispensation of cannabis (dependence, cannabis use disorders), if it is primarily based on patients’ perceived needs rather than a medical indication. Therefore ‘prescribed cannabis’ may be a more accurate description than ‘medicinal cannabis’ in the Australian context.

NCYSUR calls for regulators, professional bodies and health practitioners to work together to ensure that medicinal cannabis prescribing practices are in line with those governing other prescription medicines and that appropriate clinical oversight is maintained to ensure patient safety.

Read the paper in  Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.

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