Tigers’ Damien Hardwick, Lauren Jackson back medicinal cannabis amid advertising crackdown
Damien Hardwick has spoken candidly about his use of medicinal cannabis, detailing how it helped turned his life around despite its unorthodox use.
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Doctors are biting their tongues over spruiking the benefits of medicinal cannabis — leaving it instead to sports stars and celebrities — as the nation’s medical regulator cracks down on “unlawful advertising”.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued 96 infringement notices to medicinal cannabis companies and practitioners since July — equivalent to nearly three a week.
One Victorian doctor is understood to have been put on notice for comparing the safety of medicinal cannabis to grabbing panadol off the shelf, while a Western Australian GP copped five infringements in October.
Prominent identities like Richmond triple-premiership coach Damien Hardwick and Australian basketballer Lauren Jackson are strong advocates of medicinal cannabis, crediting it for helping their chronic pain.
Doctor James Stewart, who treats Hardwick and Jackson, has been a vocal cannabis supporter in a mission to destigmatise medical use of the drug.
He said it was important his big-name patients advocated for the drug with the TGA keeping a watchful eye on companies and doctors who may infringe on advertising rules.
“It’s making a huge change with reducing stigma,” Dr Stewart, who runs Herbal Health Clinics and was named the Australian Doctor of the Year at the 2021 Cannabis Industry Awards, said.
“They can talk about it freely and the benefits they’ve gotten from it.
“Having these people out there spreading the word is huge.”
Last week – dubbed medicinal cannabis awareness week – Hardwick spoke to Code Sports about his cannabis journey, calling it “life changing”.
“The biggest thing for mine is trying to break the stigma of what that looks like,” he said.
“I take a mill (milligram) a day. When the players first heard that I was on the medicinal cannabis they thought I was up the back of the coach’s box smoking bongs.
“Myself, Lauren Jackson, Andrew Johns, Clarko’s (Alastair Clarkson) involved and Damien Oliver, we’re trying to break that stigma because this could be really beneficial to not only sportspeople but people in general.”
The Victorian Health Department states that “any patient, with any medical condition can be prescribed medicinal cannabis by their doctor, if they believe it is clinically appropriate”.
But the TGA considers advertising “unlawful” if unapproved references are made to treating serious conditions like epilepsy or cancer with cannabis, or if prescription-only products are promoted straight to a consumer.
To track unlawful advertising, the TGA combines its own monitoring with dob-in reports from community members.
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