The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia released a position statement on the investigation of the potential therapeutic value of and therefore possible medicinal uses for cannabis.

The PSA cautions that the document does not aim to address implications or barriers to the calls to legalise the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes in Australia, while acknowledging the dynamic nature of the discussions and initiatives around the subject.

In its paper, Therapeutic use of cannabis, PSA notes reports that in some medical conditions cannabis has provided positive outcomes to individuals who may not have experienced comparable therapeutic benefits from other clinically proven medicines or treatment protocols.

“Consistent with Australia’s National Medicines Policy, the pharmacy profession supports timely access to medicines for all Australians,” the position paper states.

“We therefore support the development of an appropriate regulatory framework which would allow formal research to be undertaken to investigate the potential benefits of therapeutic use...