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Cannabis Inc: Australia’s booming medicinal weed industry
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Cannabis Inc: Australia’s booming medicinal weed industry

Australia’s medicinal cannabis industry has taken off since legalisation in 2016 – but the growth in the industry is raising questions for many in the health sector.

5 stories
Raphael Strauch is the majority owner of Australia’s biggest medicinal cannabis company, Montu, which is being pursued by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for illegally advertising its products.
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Medicinal cannabis is booming, but the biggest player is under fire

Montu’s legal battle with the TGA exposes the high stakes in Australia’s booming medicinal cannabis industry, where ethics, advertising, and profits collide.

  • by Clay Lucas
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Canada supplies 70 per cent of the medicinal cannabis now in Australia. Image created by Marija Ercegovac for a story on the glut of Canadian cannabis now flooding the world, but particularly Australia.
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As Canadian cannabis conquers Australia, local growers face tough rules

Canadian cannabis is flooding Australia’s medicinal market, leaving local growers struggling to compete with looser standards and raising concerns about quality.

  • by Clay Lucas
There are concerns about the way some doctors are prescribing medicinal cannabis.
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Ninety patients a day: Telehealth tick-and-flick cannabis scripts under fire

One GP wrote an average of one script every five minutes, fuelling concerns over money on offer, as online job ads for doctors offer up to $350 an hour.

  • by Clay Lucas
Dominic McCabe, who took his life in February, with dog Billy. The NSW man had long struggled with mental health and was on prescription medicines via his NSW doctor and psychiatrist. Unbeknownst to his family or doctors, he was also prescribed cannabis by Melbourne-based provider Dispensed.

Man’s death sparks questions on medicinal cannabis oversight

The death of a man with mental health issues who took his life after cannabis was prescribed by a Melbourne company has thrown a spotlight on a booming industry.

  • by Clay Lucas
Photos taken during a police raid on a Taylors Lake “grow house” in 2023. Melbourne University economists estimate Australia’s cannabis market to be worth upwards of $5 billion annually.

Criminalising cannabis: How Australia’s war on weed hurts the poor

Most cannabis possession arrests happen in Victoria’s poorest suburbs and towns. A new approach is needed, says the Penington Institute.

  • by Clay Lucas

Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/national/cannabis-inc-australia-s-booming-medicinal-weed-industry-20241018-p5kjin.html