Medicinal Cannabis - CBD

02 September 2020

Labor strongly supports improved access to medicinal cannabis, including CBD, in Australia.

 

That’s why Labor helped lead a recent Senate inquiry on patient access to medicinal cannabis. Two of its key recommendations were for the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to consult Australians on whether CBD should be easier to access, and to refer this issue to the Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling.

 

Labor welcomes the TGA’s recommendation to improve access to medicinal CBD by making it available without a prescription. This is based on the TGA’s findings that CBD “may have possible clinical utility” and “has an acceptable safety and tolerability profile at the proposed dose”.

 

This proposal has now been considered by the Advisory Committee, which is made up of all Australian governments and other experts.

 

I understand that the Committee will publish its interim decision in September, and that another public consultation will be held before a final decision in November. I encourage you to share your views directly with the Committee at the relevant time.

 

More broadly, the Government’s response to the Senate inquiry on medicinal cannabis is now overdue.

 

Labor calls on the Government to respond to the inquiry– and to improve access to medicinal cannabis including CBD in Australia urgently.