MEDICINAL CANNABIS

Cannabis sativa has a rich history of traditional use for healing, food and fibre. Fast forward to today and the highly regulated plant is also a commercially lucrative pharmaceutical product. Its evolution from counterculture to mainstream reveals fascinating shifts in science and society.

- Words by Linda Moon

Since cultivation of cannabis was legalised in Australia in 2016 for medical purposes (and only with a licence), there's been a surging interest in the product. Worth an estimated AU$141 million in 2023, and US$21 billion globally, the legal cannabis market is booming. Forecasts by Grand View Research predict the Australian market will soar at a compound annual growth rate of 27.8 per cent between 2024 to 2030.

How does "medicinal" cannabis differ from the maligned, recreational marijuana, pot and weed associated with getting high and addiction? What proof is there of its effectiveness? And how is the "medicalised" version accessed for health purposes within the laws of today?

Medical versus recreational cannabis

Dr Orit Holtzman, a functional medicine practitioner, director and co-founder of Leura Wellness, president of the Australian and New Zealand College of Cannabinoid Practitioners and adjunct fellow at Western Sydney University, describes medical cannabis simply as the cannabis plant used as a medication. According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), cannabis used medically can range from untreated raw and dried cannabis and hashish (cannabis resin) to various pharmaceutical cannabis preparations, as well as synthetically lab-produced cannabinoids.

In reality, within most states of Australia, medical use of the plant is highly controlled and restricted to pharmaceutical products accessed through a prescription. These come in a wide variety of forms including oral formulations (in oil, tinctures, capsules or wafers), inhalations via medical-grade vaporisers, and topical creams and pessaries, Holtzman explains. They're also sold as chewables, lozenges and as the flower. Smoking cannabis is not endorsed because of its negative impact on lung health.