AHPRA has released guidelines on how medical practitioners should be prescribing medicinal cannabis. The advice is in response to the rise in patient demand for such medications and a concerning increase in the number of medicinal cannabis prescriptions that have led to patient harm.
Practitioners are instructed to take additional caution and care when prescribing medicinal cannabis given its addictive properties and potential for misuse.
The guidelines
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the National Boards released guidelines on prescribing medicinal cannabis to patients on 9 July 2025, following a rise in the number of such prescriptions which has resulted in significant patient harm.
Most medicinal cannabis products in Australia have not been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) which is responsible for regulating the safety, quality and effectiveness of medical products. This is concerning, given that most medicinal cannabis products in Australian contain THC (delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol), which has addictive properties that may give rise to misuse. As such, these products fall under Schedule 8 medications, which is a group of substances that are available for use but in a restricted manner given the risk of abuse and dependence.
The Medical and Nursing and Midwifery Boards of Australia have advised medical professionals to conduct thorough patient assessments and provide continuous care in prescribing medicinal cannabis. This advice is in response to the numerous cases of patients presenting with medicinal cannabis induced psychosis and follows reports of practitioners who have issued more than 10,000 prescriptions for medicinal cannabis products in the span of six months. There is a growing concern that practitioners are prescribing medicinal cannabis for profit, at the expense of patient care, many of whom are particularly vulnerable.
AHPRA has stated that apart from the exceptions of certain childhood epilepsies, muscle spasms and pain associated with multiple sclerosis, there is little evidence to suggest that medicinal cannabis is effective. As such, it has warned practitioners that medicinal cannabis should not be prescribed purely on patient demand but should only be dispensed where there is clinical evidence that supports that such treatment would be effective, and all other treatments have not been so. AHPRA has also recommended that practitioners have a strategy in place from the start, in case the medicinal cannabis treatment fails to manage the patient’s needs.
Implications for you
AHPRA has warned practitioners not to prescribe excessive quantities at once or prescribe multiple medications for a patient to pick and choose the one that suits them most. AHPRA has also advised practitioners to inform the patient of any conflict of interest - for example, where a practitioner only prescribes the medication supplied by the company the practitioner is affiliated with.
AHPRA has stated that medical cannabis must be prescribed appropriately and safely, meaning that it should be prescribed after obtaining the necessary approvals from the TGA. Practitioners are now required to properly inform patients of the potential benefits and harms when prescribing an unapproved Schedule 8 product such as THC containing medicinal cannabis and therefore obtain the appropriate informed consent from their patients. AHPRA has advised practitioners to engage in good patient care as follows:
- taking the time to conduct a full assessment of a patient’s medical history, mental health assessment and substance use history,
- implementing an appropriate management plan and keeping accurate medical records, and
- providing treatment only when there is a need for it and where there is a reasonable expectation that such treatment will be effective and beneficial for the patient.
AHPRA has warned that it will investigate practitioners with high rates of prescribing any scheduled medicine, including medicinal cannabis, regardless of whether a complaint has been made.
