Changes to laws covering medicinal cannabis means WA doctors no longer need to get approval from State health authorities to prescribe to eligible patients.
WA prescribers will no longer need the WA State Health CEO’s authorisation to prescribe Schedule 8 medicinal cannabis products for eligible patients, reducing the administrative burden for doctors.
In addition, West Australians can now have Schedule 8 medicinal cannabis prescriptions issued by interstate telehealth clinics or prescribers dispensed at local WA pharmacies, eliminating the previous requirement for interstate dispensing and postal delivery.
The reforms follow years of lobbying by local medicinal cannabis producers and prescribing clinicians.
Producers say the updates bring WA more into line with national medicinal cannabis guidelines, while maintaining safeguards for patient and public safety,
WA-based medicinal cannabis producer Little Green Pharma welcomed the changes, arguing they were important improvements for prescribing and dispensing, and would remove some of the long-standing barriers for WA patients and practitioners.
The streamlining of the prescribing process for WA-based doctors would reduce administrative burdens for prescribers and improve access to treatments for patients.
The changes are part of WA’s updated Monitored Medicines Prescribing Code, released in December, which emphasises reducing regulatory burdens while maintaining safeguards for patient and public safety.
Little Green Pharma said the reforms brought WA closer to national prescribing practices, ensuring consistency and efficiency across jurisdictions.
Local implementation of real-time prescription monitoring tools such as ScriptCheckWA further bolstered safe prescribing practices while promoting informed decision-making for clinicians.
Paul Long, CEO of Little Green Pharma, said that as a company headquartered in WA with a large WA patient base, the changes improved local dispensing options and increased access to medicinal cannabis products.
“These regulatory changes mark a significant step forward for WA patients, ensuring they have better access to affordable, high-quality medicinal cannabis treatments,” he said.