Australia's journey with medical cannabis reflects a dramatic shift from decades of prohibition to becoming one of the world's fastest-growing medicinal cannabis markets. This transformation, spanning nearly a century, showcases how public health needs, patient advocacy, and evolving scientific understanding can reshape drug policy.
Early Prohibition Era (1920s-2015)
Australia first restricted cannabis use in the 1920s as a signatory to the 1925 Geneva Convention on Opium and Other Drugs, which limited cannabis use to medicinal and scientific purposes only. Cannabis was grouped alongside morphine, cocaine and heroin, despite its established medicinal uses in Australia at the time. This prohibition model was implemented with minimal research into actual cannabis use patterns within the country.
The Australian Capital Territory was the first jurisdiction to outlaw cannabis in 1926, followed by Victoria (1927), South Australia (1934), New South Wales (1935), Queensland (1937), Western Australia (1950), and Tasmania (1959). For the next eight decades, Australians seeking cannabis for medical purposes had to source it illegally, with no quality control or medical guidance.
The Push for Change (2014-2015)
The catalyst for reform came from desperate families dealing with severe medical conditions. The moves to allow medicinal cannabis in Victoria were driven largely by press coverage of parents of children with severe intractable epilepsy (mostly Dravet's syndrome) who purportedly found cannabis to be the 'only solution' to their children's persistent seizures and who were having to act outside the law to source and administer it.
Dan Haslam and his family became Australia's most prominent medicinal cannabis legalisation advocates while fighting terminal bowel cancer. Mr Haslam was a key player in influencing State Premier Mike Baird to consider the uses of medical cannabis and ultimately to introduce trials of the drug for medical purposes.
On 17 October 2015, the Federal Government announced that it would legalise the commercial growing of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes. This announcement marked the beginning of the end for Australia's blanket prohibition on medical cannabis.
Federal Legalisation (2016)
The breakthrough came on February 24, 2016, when the Australian parliament made amendments to the Narcotic Drugs Act that legalised the commercial growing of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes, with the laws coming into effect on 1 November 2016.
In November 2016, the Australian federal government passed legislation enabling a range of cannabis-based products to be prescribed as unregistered medicines using the Special Access and Authorised Prescriber Schemes, and in December 2016 the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) published clinical guidance.
However, the regulatory framework was complex from the start. Patients have access to more than 800 different medical cannabis products to treat any type of medical condition via the Special Access (SAS) and Authorised Prescriber (A-P) Schemes of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Slow Initial Uptake (2016-2019)
Despite legalisation, uptake was initially slow, but since 2019 there has been a large increase in the number of Australians who have been prescribed cannabis for medical reasons. The early years were marked by bureaucratic hurdles and limited awareness among healthcare professionals.
An online survey conducted in 2018-2019 found that despite 2 years of legal availability, most consumers in Australia reported accessing illicit cannabis products, with uncertainty regarding the quality or composition of cannabis products. In the CAMS-16 and CAMS-18 surveys, less than 3% used mainly prescribed cannabis.
The Growth Explosion (2019-2024)
The landscape changed dramatically from 2019 onwards. The results of the CAMS-22 survey show the dramatic recent increase in the proportion of people using legally-prescribed rather than illicitly-sourced medical cannabis, with almost three quarters of the sample accessing mainly prescribed cannabis—compared with just over a third in the previous CAMS-20 survey.
The market growth has been extraordinary. Medical cannabis approvals were up by 120 percent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Financial figures tell a striking story: Australians spent approximately $402 million on medicinal cannabis in the first six months of 2024, which is only marginally less than the estimated $448 million they spent over the entirety of 2023 and a dramatic rise from the 2022 figure of $235 million.
According to figures gathered by the Pennington Institute, the industry exceeds 100 tonnes annually and is valued between AUD500 and 700 million at the patient level. Market projections are equally impressive, with the Australia medical cannabis market projected to grow at a CAGR of 33.6% from 2024 to 2030.
Current State and Regulatory Evolution
Australia now has a sophisticated regulatory framework. There is no credentialling process or mandatory training requirements for medical practitioners, who may prescribe cannabis for any clinical condition they consider appropriate. A number of changes that support clinical practice have occurred in recent years, including publication of clinical guidance, educational material, and professional development programs.
However, challenges persist. Many of the headlines related to medicinal cannabis this year have been negative, with regulators and journalists investigating producers that treat regulations as optional and medical clinics that act more like retailers.
Recent legislative developments include Victoria's parliament successfully passing the Roads and Road Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2024, which provides magistrates discretion to evaluate individual cases where drivers holding valid medicinal cannabis prescriptions test positive for THC but show no signs of impairment.
Looking Forward
Australia's medical cannabis industry continues to mature rapidly. Penington Institute is working on detailed modelling for how a regulated market for adult use might work in Victoria, while public support for legalisation is growing, with YouGov data from January 2024 showing that over half of Australians polled favour decriminalising cannabis.
The transformation from complete prohibition to a billion-dollar medicinal industry in less than a decade represents one of the most dramatic drug policy reversals in Australian history. As the sector matures, the focus is increasingly shifting from access to quality, safety, and ensuring that patient welfare remains the primary driver of this evolving industry.
Today, Australia stands as a significant player in the global medical cannabis market, having successfully navigated the complex transition from prohibition to regulation—a journey that began with desperate families seeking treatment for their loved ones and has evolved into a sophisticated, if still developing, therapeutic industry.