Doctors have called for action to be taken to stop unethical prescribing of medicinal cannabis.
The RACGP has said it is aware of such practices and called for investigations into the issue.
RACGP Vice President and WA Chair Dr Ramya Raman said in some cases prescription levels had led to people ending up in hospital with psychosis.
Dr Raman’s comments follow the release of figures that shed light on patterns of prescribing medicinal cannabis products.
The AMA has said Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) data shows one Australian medical practitioner had treated more than 31,000 patients with medicinal cannabis within six months
Department of Health and Aged Care figures show more than 305,000 prescriptions were written for medicinal cannabis products in Australia in the last six months of 2024.
More than half of those – 167,599 – were for products containing more than 98% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound in cannabis.
The AMA has described this as a “highly concerning and rapid increase in medicinal cannabis prescribing”.
Dr Raman said some telehealth services were prescribing medicinal cannabis where there was “little indication it will work, and they are doing so without contacting the patient’s regular GP”.
She said tougher controls were needed on determining patient eligibility, and regulation to address conflicts of interest that is inherent in business models that prioritise profits ahead of patient care.
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An increasing number of clinics have been offering telehealth appointments specifically for the purpose of getting prescriptions for medicinal cannabis.
A number of GPs who were hired by such companies recently spoke to the ABC telling them they gave up working with the operators after feeling pressured to write prescriptions.
Dr Raman said over prescription of medicinal cannabis and the rapid rise of cannabis prescribing in Australia was a cause for alarm.
“Particularly for issues such as chronic pain and insomnia where there are effective, evidence-based therapies already available,” she said.
“When prescription becomes a business model to sell more products, rather than get to the root of a patient’s issue and explore the right treatment options, there is a problem.
“Prescriptions via online medical cannabis clinics do not require any oversight from the patient’s usual GP, or a holistic health assessment by a medical practitioner.”
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In a submission to the TGA the AMA has proposed a temporary ban on the prescribing of products with a THC content of more than 98%.
The RACGP said the Special Access Scheme (SAS) and Authorised Prescriber Scheme (APS) were being exploited in the prescribing of medicinal cannabis, and echoed the AMA’s call for a review of the regulatory system.
According to Dr Raman there were very few circumstances where that level is required.
“With the possible exception of palliative care, there is no situation where doses of THC over 98% are warranted,” she said.
“High THC products heighten anxiety, create cannabis dependency and in some cases lead to psychosis. The rise in people ending up in hospital with psychosis is a big cause for concern.”
But WA Legalise Cannabis Party MLC Dr Brian Walker, a GP who has prescribed medicinal cannabis to some of his patients, suggests the answer is not as simple.
While the prescribing patterns being recorded were what he considered “bad medicine”, he also said he understood why this was occurring.
“The thing is, if you were to do the same thing to alcohol – ban the alcohol unless it’s medicinally prescribed – what you’re going to get is people supplying alcohol through the medical practices as far as they can,” he said.
“There’s a demand there from those who say their nerves are up, they can’t sleep, and need a shot of whisky or sherry at night.
“What we really need to do is to legalise cannabis and regulate it as we do alcohol, then the problem would be less.”
Dr Walker added very few GPs were willing to consider prescribing medicinal cannabis, which contributed to certain doctors prescribing at a higher rate.
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