Exploring access to medicinal cannabis through general practitioners in Australia

Article

Martin, Sophia, Jansen, Sarah, Toole, Annalisa and Ward, Aletha. 2025. "Exploring access to medicinal cannabis through general practitioners in Australia." Australian Journal of General Practice. 54 (3), pp. 101-108. https://doi.org/10.31128/AJGP-02-24-7155

Article Title	Exploring access to medicinal cannabis through general practitioners in Australia
ERA Journal ID	13428
Article Category	Article
Authors	Martin, Sophia, Jansen, Sarah, Toole, Annalisa and Ward, Aletha
Journal Title	Australian Journal of General Practice
Journal Citation	54 (3), pp. 101-108
Number of Pages	8
Year	2025
Publisher	The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Place of Publication	Australia
ISSN	2208-7958
	2208-794X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)	https://doi.org/10.31128/AJGP-02-24-7155
Web Address (URL)	https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2025/march/exploring-access-to-medicinal-cannabis-through-gen
Abstract	Background and objectives Patient access to medicinal cannabis (MC) is impacted by several factors, despite legalisation of it for medicinal and related scientific purposes in 2016. This scoping review aimed to examine the barriers and enablers to accessing MC through general practitioners (GPs) in Australia. Methods Scientific and grey literature meeting inclusion criteria were identified from 2016 to 2023, resulting in 11 papers and 40 webpages being included in this review. Results Many GPs reported inadequate knowledge surrounding MC, forming a barrier to their approachability to discussion with patients. Living rurally and earning less money were barriers to patients’ ability to seek MC. Telehealth cannabis clinics lessened geographical barriers, but not financial barriers. Discussion Although stigma and demographic access barriers to MC are decreasing with cultural, industry and healthcare system shifts, inequitable access is still occurring due to the economic burden on patients. GPs reported having difficulties in navigating the prescribing process and accessing the most up-to-date evidence for clinical use due to time scarcity.
Keywords	Medicinal cannabis ; general practitioners
Contains Sensitive Content	Does not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020	420699. Public health not elsewhere classified
Public Notes	File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author/creator.
Byline Affiliations	Centre for Health Research
	School of Nursing and Midwifery
	First Nations Strategy Research Alliance

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