Safety and Testing

Medical cannabis testing and side effects

Because of the Australian Government’s dedication to delivering a quality product to patients, Australia has some of the tightest quality regulations for therapeutic products in the world. All medical cannabis therapies manufactured in Australia must meet stringent labelling and quality standards to guarantee that they are free of pesticides, moulds, bacteria, heavy metals, and toxins.

Medicinal cannabis has a lower risk of adverse effects than many other drugs and is often well accepted by patients.

Furthermore, the danger of serious adverse effects or dependency is low while using medical cannabis.

There is also evidence that cannabis therapy may often address several elements of a disorder, which results in a reduction in polypharmacy. Medicinal cannabis could also help individuals cut back on their opiate use.

References

1. Therapeutics Goods Administration, ‘Guidance for the use of medicinal cannabis in Australia, Overview’, Australian Government, Department of Health, Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2017, https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/d… (accessed 8 April 2019).
2. Gable, RS, ‘Comparison of acute lethal toxicity of commonly abused psychoactive substances’, Addiction, Vol. 99, 2004, pp. 686-696.
3. Haroutounian, S, et al., ‘The Effect of Medicinal Cannabis on Pain and Quality-of-Life Outcomes in Chronic Pain A Prospective Open-label Study’, Clinical Journal of Pain, vol. 32 (12), 2016, pp. 1036-1043.
4. Boehnke, KF et al., Medical Cannabis Use Is Associated With Decreased Opiate Medication Use in a Retrospective Cross-Sectional Survey of Patients With Chronic Pain. The Journal of Pain, 2016, vol, 17 (6): 739-744.
5. Lucas, P., ‘Cannabis as an Adjunct to or Substitute for Opiates in the Treatment of Chronic Pain’, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, vol. 44 (21), 2012, pp. 125-133.
6. Bradford, AC., et al., ‘Association Between US State Medical Cannabis Laws and Opioid Prescribing in the Medicare Part D Population’, JAMA, vol. 178 (5), 2018, pp. 667-673.
7. Bachhuber et al., ‘Medical Cannabis Laws and Opioid Analgesic Overdose Mortality in the United States, 1999-2010’, JAMA , vol. 174 (10), 2014, pp. 1668-1673.