How do I prepare my pharmacy to be medicinal cannabis ready?

To dispense unregistered medicinal cannabis prescriptions, you need to meet all legal requirements as stated by the Australian Government and relevant state/territory health departments.

Note that products containing 98% or more cannabidiol (CBD), and in which any other naturally occurring cannabinoids other than CBD eg, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) comprise 2% or less of the total cannabinoid content, are Schedule 4 prescriptions. In general, products that contain THC are classified as Schedule 8.

Start by checking the requirements as specified by your relevant state/territory health department. Ensure you meet all criteria, and that all required applications are submitted and approved.

These requirements may include that:

• Dispensing pharmacists must not have any undertakings by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) on their registration to dispense Schedule 8 products.
  
  
• Dispensing pharmacies must meet all requirements and have the appropriate processes for ordering, storing, dispensing, recording, reporting and disposing of unwanted or expired Schedule 8 drugs according to their state or territory legislation.
  
  
• Dispensing pharmacists and pharmacy must meet all other state/territory health department specific requirements. These requirements may continue to change so it is necessary to review them regularly.

Examples of specific state/territory health department requirements include:

• Some states provide approval on each occasion an unregistered medicinal cannabis product is to be dispensed.
  
  
• Some states may require a pharmacy to obtain the prescription before being able to order the medicinal cannabis product and a pharmacy may need to be nominated by the prescriber or patient.
  
  
• Other states may have additional approvals or preparation before pharmacists are ready to dispense medicinal cannabis products. Additional requirement includes state/territory health department endorsement for a nominated pharmacist to dispense medicinal cannabis and to prepare a Medicinal Cannabis Management Plan (MCMP). The state/territory health department must be satisfied with those preparations before authorising the pharmacy to dispense.

See below for state and territory specific laws and information:

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia

As the possession and use of non-medicinal cannabis is illegal in most Australian states and territories, special permission is needed to access cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Only registered Australian Doctors can apply for approval to prescribe cannabis for medical purposes. Once approved, Doctors may then prescribe medicinal cannabis for management of some conditions under the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Special Access Scheme (SAS).

Source: NPS Medicinwise