Medicinal cannabis products

Medicinal cannabis products

Medicinal cannabis products are those:

• lawfully manufactured and prescribed for a therapeutic purpose
• either derived from legally cultivated cannabis plants or synthetically made cannabinoid substances
• not included on the unregistered list of Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).

There are many naturally occurring cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Access to medicinal cannabis products follows the same process as for all other scheduled medicines in Australia. Both Commonwealth and Tasmanian legislation, and regulatory frameworks are applicable.

Tasmania’s Controlled Access Scheme (CAS)

Tasmania’s Controlled Access Scheme (CAS):

• gives appropriately qualified Tasmanian Health Service (THS) specialist medical practitioners the option of prescribing unregistered medicinal cannabis as part of their treatment of patients.
• allows for subsidised access to unregistered medicinal cannabis products where there is a need to access this product through an acute public hospital.
• utilised an established medicines access pathway within the THS under a framework which considers evidence for effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness for the disease or condition being treated. 
• includes criteria restricting prescribing of these products to relevant medical specialists within the THS in the specific condition being treated. Other accepted therapeutic options must have been trialled and shown to be ineffective, or inappropriate.
• allows for dispensing of these subsidised products only at a THS pharmacy.

On 1 July 2021 the Department made changes to how Tasmanians may access unregistered medicinal cannabis products, which included a process to approve Tasmanian General Practitioners to prescribe unregistered medicinal cannabis products and allowing more pharmacies across the State to be able to dispense these products.

• This has aligned access to unregistered medicinal cannabis products in Tasmania with other Australian jurisdictions from 1 July 2021.
• Tasmanian GPs are required to seek approval from the TGA under either the Special Access Scheme or Authorised Prescriber Scheme.
• Tasmania has adopted the national streamlined online application pathway and 48-hour authorisation timeframe.
• There are no restrictions on the medical conditions for which a prescriber may apply through the national streamlined online application pathway.
• Relevant medical specialists within the THS will be able to continue to utilise the pre-existing application pathway for subsidised access to these products.