That means it'll now be easier to get it?
Yes and no.
If you already have approval to use medicinal
marijuana, then yes, you'll no longer have to
wait for the product you need to be imported,
assuming that product is one that has met all
of the import regulations.
But if you don't already have a prescription,
it won't be any easier to get one as a result of
this change.
How hard is it to get a prescription?
Quite hard, because medicinal marijuana isn't
approved by the Therapeutic Goods
Association (TGA) as a registered good.
You need special approval to take it, and the
TGA provides two ways for you to go about
getting this:
Firstly, doctors can apply to become
"authorised prescribers" of specific non-listed
drugs to patients with particular medical
conditions
Secondly, doctors can apply for medicinal
marijuana on behalf of their patients through
the "Special Access Scheme"
In both cases, doctors need to be able to show
that the drug would be of benefit for a
particular patient with a particular disease,
and the application processes are stringent.
As well, the use of marijuana for medical
purposes still needs to be legal in your state or
territory.
On that note, individual states and territories
also have their own laws regarding access to
medicinal marijuana.
Who can get prescriptions?
Individual states and territories can make
access available to specific types of patients.
For instance, the Victorian Government
announced in 2015 that it was legalising
access to medicinal cannabis in "exceptional
circumstances", including cases of children
with severe epilepsy.
The TGA isn't specific about which illnesses
might be eligible for special access, but
medicinal marijuana has been used to treat
people with epilepsy, chronic pain, cancer and
HIV/AIDS.
So it's not as easy to get medical marijuana
in Australia as it is in California?
No, it's not.
"In America, you can go to the doctor with a
headache and get a prescription for medicinal
marijuana," said Professor Jennifer Martin,
chair of clinical pharmacology at the
University of Newcastle.
Only if you’re one of the lucky few that have been prescribed