Hemp Gazette reports
Also involved in development of the guides were patient and consumer groups, outpatient and primary health networks and other organisations.
Commissioned by the Federal Department of Health, along with New South Wales, Victorian and Queensland state governments, the various guides target different groups – patients, health care professionals, and prescribers and dispensers.
The new guides are available for the following subject areas
- Patient information
- General overview
- Multiple sclerosis
- Palliative care patients
- Epilepsy in paediatric and young adult patients
- Prevention or management of nausea and vomiting
- Chronic non-cancer pain in Australia
The TGA says the guides will be updated as new information becomes available. No doubt the publications will stir up some controversy. For example, some advice states there was little evidence of benefit to advanced cancer patients with chronic pain.
However, the publications do acknowledge medical cannabis may be of benefit in treating or managing MS, paediatric epilepsy and other conditions. The usual sorts of disclaimers are used about “not enough research”, “insufficient information” and so forth. Still, it’s a big change from the tunes being played by government and its agencies in the not-so-distant past and it will be interesting to see how the documents evolve.
Full report at https://www.hempgazette.com/news/cannabis-guidance-australia-mb0486/
