Australian patients face major barriers accessing legal medicinal cannabis, pushing many to illicit markets
Despite legalization in 2016, Australian patients face practitioner reluctance to prescribe, high costs, and product supply issues that drive many to unregulated cannabis sources.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Three primary barriers emerged: healthcare practitioners' reluctance to prescribe, high costs disproportionately affecting low-income patients, and dependence on imported products causing shortages and substitution costs. Patients showed resilience by self-educating, planning, and forming support networks, but many turned to illicit markets.
Key Numbers
60 submissions analyzed (44 patients, 16 caregivers). Three primary barriers identified. Patients turned to illicit markets due to cost and access issues.
How They Did This
Qualitative analysis of 60 consumer submissions (44 patients, 16 caregivers/family) to a government senate inquiry. Coded using NVivo 12 and analyzed through a consumer vulnerability framework.
Why This Research Matters
When legal medical cannabis programs fail patients through cost and access barriers, they create a perverse incentive to use unregulated products that lack quality control and carry legal risk. Policy reform requires understanding these ground-level barriers.
The Bigger Picture
Australia's experience mirrors problems seen in other medical cannabis markets where legalization without adequate implementation creates a two-tier system: those who can afford regulated products and those forced into unregulated markets.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Consumer submissions to a government inquiry may overrepresent frustrated patients. No quantification of how many patients use illicit cannabis. Submissions reflect patient perspectives, not objective measurement of barrier severity.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would government subsidies for medical cannabis reduce reliance on illicit markets?
- ?How do other countries address practitioner reluctance to prescribe cannabis?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- practitioner reluctance, high costs, and import dependence driving Australian patients to illicit cannabis markets despite legalization
- Evidence Grade:
- Qualitative analysis of government inquiry submissions provides authentic patient voices but represents a self-selected sample with likely negative bias.
- Study Age:
- 2025 publication analyzing submissions from a post-2016 senate inquiry.
- Original Title:
- Medicinal Cannabis and Consumer Vulnerability in Australia: A Nexus of Policy and Market Factors.
- Published In:
- Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 28(1), e70176 (2025)
- Authors:
- Gething, Katrina, Erku, Daniel(2), Scuffham, Paul(2)
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06529
Evidence Hierarchy
Uses interviews or focus groups to understand experiences in depth.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Australian doctors reluctant to prescribe medicinal cannabis?
Many practitioners lack training in cannabinoid medicine, face regulatory complexity, and are concerned about insufficient evidence for specific conditions. Some also fear professional scrutiny for prescribing a historically stigmatized substance.
Why is medicinal cannabis expensive in Australia?
Most products are imported, adding supply chain costs. The prescription pathway involves specialist consultations and approval processes that add expense. Unlike most pharmaceuticals, medicinal cannabis is not covered by Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06529APA
Gething, Katrina; Erku, Daniel; Scuffham, Paul. (2025). Medicinal Cannabis and Consumer Vulnerability in Australia: A Nexus of Policy and Market Factors.. Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 28(1), e70176. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70176
MLA
Gething, Katrina, et al. "Medicinal Cannabis and Consumer Vulnerability in Australia: A Nexus of Policy and Market Factors.." Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70176
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Medicinal Cannabis and Consumer Vulnerability in Australia: ..." RTHC-06529. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/gething-2025-medicinal-cannabis-and-consumer
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.