Opinion: Defending the role of cannabis as a public and community good

OPINION

After 2024 ended with calls for medicinal cannabis to be removed from the Special Access Scheme, the industry must fight back in 2025, says our  part-time MPhil candidate Andrew Proudfoot.

Recently, the head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) defended timely medicinal cannabis access to address the unmet clinical needs of Australians in circumstances of limited or no other approved treatment options. Why did he have to do that?

Well, as we know, cannabis occupies a complicated position in Australia as it is simultaneously a legal ‘public good’ medicine, a ‘community good’, and a (sometimes illicit) ‘consumer good’, depending on how it is obtained and in which state or territory you happen to be.

It is a medical punching bag – an unfortunate hangover from prohibition.

Read the full story on Cannabiz.