Thursday, 31 July 2025

Medicinal cannabis

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (18:32): (1802) My matter is for the Minister for Health regarding the urgent need for strong oversight of medicinal cannabis prescribing practices in Victoria. The action I seek is for the minister to work with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, AHPRA, to ensure robust enforcement of prescribing guidelines and protect patient safety across Victoria’s healthcare system concerning accessing medicinal cannabis prescriptions.

Medicinal cannabis has become a growing part of our healthcare landscape, with over 1 million Australians now receiving prescriptions. While this treatment can offer relief for patients in genuine beneficial need, recent revelations have exposed several flaws in how it is being prescribed and dispensed. AHPRA has raised the alarm over poor prescribing practice, including doctors issuing thousands of prescriptions in a matter of months and some more than 17,000 in six months. With some consultations lasting less than a minute and many telehealth clinics that both prescribe and sell cannabis products, there are growing concerns that a profit-over-patient care model is being prioritised.

Under current guidelines, medicinal cannabis should only be prescribed after a thorough assessment of patients’ medical histories, identification of clear beneficial need and development of existing strategies. These safety guidelines exist for a reason, but when they are ignored, the consequences can be serious. Emergency departments across the state are reporting cases of cannabis-induced psychosis, with a story emerging that patients are being coached through online questionnaires to say the right thing to secure a prescription. These poor practices undermine the integrity of the healthcare system and put vulnerable patients at risk. The TGA has approved only two cannabis products for specific conditions. All others are prescribed off label, meaning they have not been assessed for safety, effectiveness or quality. Without proper oversight we risk normalising the use of unproved medicines without adequate justification. Therefore I call for the minister to ensure that Victorian practitioners are held to the highest standard when prescribing medicinal cannabis. Victorians deserve a government that puts patient safety before profit.