Anxiety disorders drive most of Australia's 300,000 medical cannabis prescriptions for psychiatric conditions

Of approximately 300,000 Special Access Scheme B approvals for medical cannabis in Australia (2016-2022), 33.9% were for psychiatric conditions. Anxiety disorders dominated (66.7% of psychiatry-related prescribing), followed by sleep-wake disorders (18.2%), trauma/stressor-related disorders (5.8%), and neurodevelopmental disorders (4.4%). CBD-dominant products comprised 20% of prescribing, particularly for autism spectrum disorder. Dramatic increases in ADHD prescribing were identified.

Analysis of Therapeutic Goods Administration Special Access Scheme B application data from November 2016 through September 2022. Conditions categorized according to DSM-5-TR criteria. Prescribing trends analyzed via polynomial regression.

Australia has one of the largest legal medical cannabis programs globally. The dominance of psychiatric prescribing for conditions with limited evidence (anxiety, ADHD, depression) highlights a gap between clinical practice and evidence base.

The rapid growth of psychiatric prescribing, particularly for conditions like ADHD where evidence is minimal, raises questions about whether regulatory frameworks are keeping pace with clinical practice.

SAS-B approval data does not capture actual patient outcomes or whether treatment was effective. Cannot determine if patients also used illicit cannabis. Prescribing trends may reflect practitioner marketing rather than evidence-based practice.