ArticleHealth expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy2025
Medicinal Cannabis and Consumer Vulnerability in Australia: A Nexus of Policy and Market Factors.
Article in Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Beyond symptom change: a qualitative descriptive study of reported quality of life experiences among adults prescribed medicinal cannabis for anxiety disorders.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionFollowing the 2016 legalization of medicinal cannabis (MC) in Australia, significant barriers have led patients to seek unregulated cannabis for therapeutic use. This study examines consumer (patient, carer and family) submissions to a senate inquiry on these barriers to understand how future policy might better reflect patient needs and facilitate access to regulated MC.
methodsSixty submissions from patients (n = 44), their caregivers or family members (n = 16) were coded using NVivo 12 software and thematically analysed. The findings were presented narratively using a consumer vulnerability framework.
resultsThe analysis identified three primary barriers to accessing regulated MC: (1) Health practitioners' reluctance to prescribe MC, hindering prescription access, (2) High costs associated with MC and its access process, disproportionately affecting low-income consumers and (3) Dependence on imported MC products, leading to shortages and necessitating product substitutions that incur additional costs and bureaucratic hurdles. Despite these barriers, consumers demonstrated resilience by educating themselves about MC, planning for prescription needs and forming support networks. Patients also turned to illicit MC markets.
conclusionThe study reveals significant barriers to regulated MC access in Australia, highlighting the complex challenges consumers face. The reliance on unregulated sources of MC not only poses legal and health risks but also underscores the urgent need for policy reforms. By addressing the identified barriers, such as alleviating the costs associated with MC and improving approval processes and ensuring product availability, policymakers can better meet consumer needs and facilitate safer access to regulated MC. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: The materials of this document analysis were patient and public submissions to a government enquiry into barriers to a health technology. By providing submissions, both patients and the public were actively engaging in the development of health policy.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.