West Australian patients are finding it almost impossible to obtain medicinal cannabis more than eight months after it was legalised, advocates say.
By May, no health professional had applied to prescribe the drug, despite the drug being made legal in November.
The Department of Health confirmed this week it has granted permission to three doctors to prescribe cannabinoid-based drugs, and is in the process of assessing two more applications.
It would not say whether the doctors who have been granted permission are working within a public hospital, citing privacy concerns.
Advocates say the process of obtaining the medicinal cannabis drugs legally in WA remain overly bureaucratic, with doctors needing approvals from both the Therapeutic Goods Association and the Health Department.
Perth mother Joelle Neville has long been pushing for greater use of medicinal cannabis in the state, and is in the process of trying access cannabis-based medicine to treat her 11-year-old daughter Ava’s epileptic seizures.
She treats her daughter with cannabinoid medicinal products obtained from the US, but is pushing to get a local prescription.
Ms Neville said some doctors seemed reluctant to try to prescribe the drug.
“There are multiple layers to that I’m guessing, there’s still a level of ignorance out there, about the efficacy of medical cannabis,” she said.
Ms Neville said she was concerned those who would benefit from medicinal cannabis would be forced onto the black market, unless the products were easier to obtain.
She also said her supply of cannabinoid-based products obtained in the US was running out.
Health Minister Roger Cook said the drug companies behind the products needed to educate doctors more on how the products could be used, and their benefits.
“I have called on the industry to step up to that roll and to consider why — when clearly the WA community expressed a desire to see these products made available — they are not being accessed,” he said.
But the Australian Medical Association of WA said it remained cautious about the use of medicinal cannabis.
AMA WA president Omar Khorshid said it was important rules around the use of medicinal cannabis remained strict, as its efficacy was still being tested.
“The AMA is certainly not supportive of shortcuts, and instead of avoiding all the regulatory steps, we should be investigating cannabis-based products, how good they are, how safe they are, and once that’s been done, they should available just like any other drug,” he said.
“The AMA is calling for more research on cannabis-based drugs so that we know what’s in them, how well they work, and how safe they are, and once that’s done, we’ll be able to prescribe to prescribe better drugs for patients to manage these conditions.”
Ms Neville said there was international research to show cannabinoid-based products were safe and efficient.
The Department of Health said an application was yet to be received from Ms Neville’s doctor, and the department had contacted this doctor to provide information and regulatory assistance.
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