Medicines and poisons

The Australian Government Department of Health regulates therapeutic medicines containing cannabis through the Therapeutic Goods Administration and for importation or production, the Office of Drug Control.

Access is restricted to patients where there is evidence to support its therapeutic use.

For further information read the:

• Therapeutic Goods Administration website or phone 1800 020 653
• Office of Drug Control or phone (08) 6232 8740

Patients living in the Northern Territory

Medical cannabis pharmaceuticals are prescription medicines, so access for each patient starts with assessment by a medical practitioner. General practitioners (GPs) may refer a patient to a specialist to obtain further advice and support before deciding to prescribe a medicinal cannabis pharmaceutical.

The Northern Territory does not apply any specific regulation to the prescribing and supply of medicinal cannabis pharmaceuticals.

However a doctor must obtain approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration under the Special Access or Authorised Prescriber Schemes (or for a Clinical Trial) before issuing a prescription or supplying a medicinal cannabis pharmaceutical which is not on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).

Some medicinal cannabis pharmaceuticals are classified as Schedule 8 medicines depending on their THC content. Schedule 8 medicines have extra requirements in the NT including reporting to the monitored medicines database, prescription contents and supply and storage requirements.

For further information read the:

• Access to Medicinal Cannabis/CBD Oil in the NT Information Sheet
• Therapeutic Goods Administration website’s Access to medicinal cannabis product page or phone 1800 020 653