The Australian recently reported that doctors have criticised medicinal cannabis companies for pushing to assess drug safety based on patient experiences rather than rigorous clinical trials. This comes amid an independent review by the Therapeutic Goods Administration on medicinal cannabis prescriptions, which has highlighted tensions between cautious medical professionals and profit-driven cannabis businesses.
Penington Institute Research Director and acting CEO Dr Jake Dizard cautioned that overly strict regulation could unintentionally push patients toward illegal sources, The Australian reports.
The solutions that some groups in the medical establishment have been calling for really would take a sledgehammer to medicinal cannabis access, where a much more nuanced scalpel-like approach is probably necessary.
He explained that while safety and oversight are important, an overly rigid approach risks undermining the very patients the system is meant to help. With demand for medicinal cannabis growing rapidly, he argued that a balance must be struck between maintaining evidence-based standards and ensuring patient access.
It really is a public health issue, and not just a simple question of prescribing protocols. The last thing we want is for medicinal cannabis to be so difficult to access that people simply switch to easily available illicit cannabis.
Dr Dizard suggested that a more considered approach could preserve patient safety while avoiding the unintended consequence of pushing people toward unregulated markets. By focusing on nuanced regulation, the medicinal cannabis system could continue to provide therapeutic benefits without fueling the black market.
This coverage originally appeared in The Australian on 22nd October 2025.