, has detailed how the nation’s biggest medicinal cannabis company engineered a legally contentious referral scheme as it built a dominant position in the booming industry.
The revelations raise serious concerns about the level of regulation, medical ethics and risks to consumers from an industry that has expanded rapidly since the sale of cannabis was first legalised in 2016. There are nearly 3000 approved providers nationwide and hundreds of online companies materialised during the pandemic that prescribe and sell the drug without patients ever leaving their homes.
Among Montu’s products are “its best-selling Circle ‘White Widow’ , its Sundaze Sierra Blaze and its Upstate Carts Pineapple Express cannabis flower products”. Legitimate as the medicinal uses of cannabis may be, these products have hardly been given the most serious names.Montu, through a spokeswoman, says the company was “committed to adhering to all legal and regulatory requirements” and that it worked constructively with regulatory authorities.
All other medicinal cannabis products are prescribed off-label, meaning they have not been assessed by the TGA for efficacy, quality or safety. Common off-label uses can include to treat chronic pain, anxiety, and sleep problems: the results of clinical trials have so far been mixed, but there are no doubt patients who are reaping real benefits.